


I'll be careful while I'm climbin' 'cause it hurts a lot to drop

by kris932



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Secret Origin of Tony Stark (Comic), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Crack Treated Seriously, Darcy is Maria Stark, Depression, Dysfunctional Relationships, F/M, Married Sex, May/December Relationship, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rare Pairings, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-25 19:57:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 47,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3822868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kris932/pseuds/kris932
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>S.H.I.E.L.D. had put her through their version of basic training after the events of New Mexico. It wasn’t fun by any means and she still misses her IPod but she now knew how to respond against an attacker in different situations. Darcy while always fond of being dressed comfortably now made sure that she could always run in her shoes. Her Taser never left her side these days. Aliens, MIB’s and Mad Scientists didn’t faze her. But waking up surrounded by gun touting men that could have walked out of the pages of one of her history books was unexpected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will shameless use bits and pieces from the comics, movies, real history, and TV shows, disregard other parts, and generally be slammed together until this story makes some sort of sense.

I find the whole time travel question very unsettling if you take it to its logical extension. I think it might eventually be possible, but then what happens? -William Shatner  
The bottom line is that time travel is allowed by the laws of physics. -Brian Greene  
~0~0~  
It started with a lab accident like many of these stories do. One moment they’re in the lab. Jane is running low on sleep, but so sure that her next breakthrough is in sight. No time for food, showering, or sleep. Science awaits! Darcy is with her of course, fiddling with her new StarkPlayer ™ (may her Ipod R.I.P wherever it might be) and occasionally typing in data on the spreadsheet open on her computer. 

The next moment BAM! CRACK! BOOM! (or something more delicate and mature, but still ominous) would resound through the lab. Then? Hell breaks loose.   
And so it begins…  
~0~0~

Maria Collins Carbonell was born in South Hampton, New York. A brown eyed, brunette all American bombshell. She’s the only child of her late parents and has no other close family members. She’s from money but not one of the big last names seen weekly in the papers and discussed on Wall Street. She wouldn’t be questioned at parties of a certain caliber, nor would she really be remembered. No one to miss her or search for her. She’s the perfect candidate for a newly minted secret government agency. 

Margaret ‘Peggy’ Carter needed more than one identity after all. Maria Carbonell is a good start. 

By the end of the week she’d be able to mock up all the official documents to make Miss Carbonell exist. 

~0~0~

Darcy blacks out.  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Darcy wakes up.

~0~0~

S.H.I.E.L.D. had put her through their version of basic training after the events of New Mexico. It wasn’t fun by any means and she still misses her IPod but she now knew how to respond against an attacker in different situations. Darcy while always fond of being dressed comfortably now made sure that she could always run in her shoes. Her Taser never left her side these days. Aliens, MIB’s and Mad Scientists didn’t faze her. But waking up surrounded by gun touting men that could have walked out of the pages of one of her history books was unexpected.

“Are you armed?”

“Taser, left back pocket of my jeans.” 

If anything that made the gun touting men more on guard than they were before.

“Ma’am, you have a what in your pocket?”

“Taser. You know… click click zap… commence painful twitching?” 

One of the men, removed one of his hands from his gun and made a signal too quick for Darcy to make out. She soon realized she had much bigger problems when she felt something stick in her neck. Within seconds she lost consciousness.   
.  
.  
.  
White walls, steel table, what she assumed was a two-way mirror taking up half a wall and a complete lack of her possessions and clothing was waiting for her when she woke up. Someone, and she didn’t want to think too much about it, had stripped her of her clothes and put her in a hospital gown. Darcy had no idea who or what she was dealing with. But, hey at least they spoke English! 

She wasn’t much a fan of the handcuffs that linked her to the table though and she was probably going to be even less of a fan of the men opening the door to come question her.   
.  
.  
.  
.  
‘What is it?’ asked Peggy as she glared at Howard over her desk and lunch. 

“I already told you… I don’t know. Well, let’s amend that, I have a fairly good idea what both these items are. Just that they are far beyond the average technology of our time. And this one…” he held up the small Starkphone™ with the very familiar Stark Logo embossed on the back of it, “was not made by me in any shape or fashion, as I have told you already.”

“Interrogation said she called it a ‘cellphone’ and an ‘mp3’ player.” Howard nodded in agreement.

“Right, so Cooper over at Motorola is working a slow angle that might in his wildest dreams look as sophisticated as this-in 30 to 50 years. But, pal, I gotta tell you my car phone   
is the best top of the line-custom made work around, and it’s got nothing on this.” 

“Could you get it to work?”

“For calls? No, I’ll spare you the technical details for once, Pegs. But not a chance. I can open some of the… ‘apps’ however.” 

“I see.” 

“I think I can fiddle with it in my lab and keep it running long enough to look through it all.”

“So we’ll have more information to go off of by tomorrow morning.”

“Something like that, but you do know how I love to sleep in.” Peggy rolled her eyes and turned back to her lunch effectively shutting down anymore comments Howard wanted to throw her way. 

But he was still sitting, looking uncomfortable in her opinion, in her office. She sighed and put down her sandwich. 

“It bothers you that your logo is on it.”

“It’s unsettling.” He finally stood up, but stayed shifting from foot to foot like he wanted to say something else to her. But whatever was racing through his brain, remained locked up tight. “I’m calling it a day here in the office, gonna head to my personal lab, Peggy.”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Howard hadn’t questioned the girl himself. He hadn’t even seen her yet. This was definitely going to change after getting a chance to play around with the tech they had removed from her person. He had questions and needed far better answers than what the agents had managed to get out of Darcy Lewis.   
Like for example: Who the fucking hell was Anthony Edward Stark. And was there a way to read more of his academic papers on this ‘cellphone’, because whoever the fucking hell he was, he had some fascinating ideas in the mechanical engineering field and Howard really wanted to read more. 

Unfortunately there was only one paper written by the man, most of the other documents had the name Dr. Jane Foster listed as the main author. She didn’t seem to know much about mechanical engineering at all. But her theories seemed so outlandish he had a feeling that based off the tone, she seemed to think she was right but had figured out that no one else was ever going to agree with her. She wrote of gods and monsters and science and technology that sounded eerily familiar to Howard from his days with the Strategic Scientific Reserve and from his nightmares where good men never made it home.


	2. Chapter 2

Much to everyone’s’ surprise, especially Peggy’s since he never arrived before her unless he had ended up crashing there overnight, Howard Stark arrived to the S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters bright and early the next morning. He intercepted Peggy before she made it to her office and paperwork. Instead he whisked her quickly down to interrogation where he had already gotten Suspect 498 moved into one of the small secure rooms. 

Howard then proceeded to kick the rest of the staff off the floor and put it into lockdown. 

“Might I ask you what exactly is going on here, Howard? Is this really necessary?” She asked a frown marring the curve of her red painted lips. “Or are you being over dramatic as usual.”

Howard rolled his eyes at his friend and co-worker and tried guiding her over to a chair, but she stood firm with her arms crossed. 

“Alright, fine. Be that way.” He plopped down in the chair that Peggy had refused and propped his feet up on the edge of the table. 

“We need to talk to this girl.”

“She’s been interrogated by our bes-.” 

Howard cut in before she could finish her sentence “I don’t think this needs to be common knowledge at all. In fact I think we should keep any and all info on.” Here he grabbed the file on Suspect 498 that had been laying on the table and flipped it open. “Darcy Lewis, to ourselves.” 

“Why?”

“Let’s just talk with the girl ourselves, Pegs.”

“What are you not telling me?”

“If I’m already not telling you something, did you think asking me that question would really help? C’mon, let’s go, time’s money, Darlin’.”   
.  
.  
.  
The last 24 hours (give or take) since she honestly couldn’t tell how long she had been out of it before being questioned the day before, had not been pleasant to say the least.   
She had been caught in a lab accident of questionable origin, she’d been shot with a sedative, questioned repeatedly by what she assumed were more MIB’s but of the non-Coulson variety, and then once again had her music stolen from her. Un-fucking-believable. Now she was back in the same interrogation room as the last time and she had watched way too many spy flicks on Netflix to think that this was going to end well for her.   
.  
.  
.  
“Ms. Lewis, my name is Agent Carter and this is Mr. Stark.” Peggy said as she and Howard took seats across from their prisoner.   
Said prisoner, who had the day before been overly talkative and rather brash with the agents now sat gaping at the two of them. When it became clear to Peggy that Ms. Lewis was not about to say anything she began again. 

“As I stated I am-“ No one was going to let her complete a thought today it seemed. 

“Peggy Carter, oh wow. The Peggy Carter…and Howard Stark. I am so entirely fucked right now.” 

Ms. Lewis’ outburst took a second to register in Peggy’s brain as Howard choked down a laugh next to her. But unlike him, she did not find the situation amusing in the slightest. 

“How did you know my name?” Howard’s name made sense, newspapers and newsreels showcased him often enough. But her name was rarely matched to her face that quickly.   
Even back when that god-awful Captain America radio show was on daily. 

“I think I can guess.” Said Howard. 

Ms. Lewis still looked gobsmacked in general, but the look she turned on Howard was considering and intelligent. 

“I guess the people that took all my personal stuff handed them off to you then?” she asked. 

“Something along those lines, Ms. Maybe we can start this over, I’m Howard Stark, owner of Stark Industries, and director of a new program called S.H.I.E.L.D.” he paused to smirk at the younger woman. “But then I have a feeling this is not new information for you…” he trailed off. 

“Yes and no.” 

“Of course, that would be much too easy.” 

Ms. Lewis laughed, sounding a little desperate in the process.

“Are you a physicist? An engineer? Both?” 

She rolled her eyes and laughed a little bit lighter this time. 

“You were able to open some of my apps weren’t you? You didn’t delete any of my music by accident, right? Wait, how did you keep it charged? Never mind, you could tell me but it’d go over my head.” She jerked her hands and looked surprised to see them still handcuffed to the table. It seemed as if the woman had forgotten she was chained up in the first place. 

“Anyway, so not a physicist but my boss is an astrophysicist.” 

“That would be Dr. Jane Foster, I assume?”

Normally Agent Carter would never interrupt an interrogation where the person being interrogated was actually giving useful information. But since both Howard and Ms. Lewis seemed to have forgotten she was present and not a single one of their statements made any sense to her she broke her own rule and interrupted their conversation. 

“Who is Dr. Jane Foster?”

Both Howard and Darcy turned towards her and her first assessment that they might have (despite the circumstances) forgotten she was still sitting there appeared correct. 

“My boss/BFF. She’s recently made one of history’s biggest breakthroughs in her field.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors all new scientific achievements, why have I never heard of Dr. Foster?” 

“Ah, Pegs.” She glared at Howard and his familiar tone in front of a prisoner but he ignored her and continued. “That’s what makes this all so exciting and covert. Ms. Lewis do you mind telling us what year you were born?” 

“I do mind, but I figure you aren’t going to be letting me go anytime soon sooo…not that I have any place to go at this point…. 1991.”

“What?” Peggy asked less than intelligently. 

“Ms. Darcy Lewis here, is from the future.”   
.  
.  
.  
The interrogation had only gone downhill from there. Howard had asked quite a few questions about Dr. Foster’s work. A few questions about S.H.I.E.L.D. itself (apparently, Ms. Lewis wasn’t an Agent in the future, but she apparently had a contact with the agency, whose correspondence Howard had been able to read part of) had also been asked. After that the questions and answers had progressively become more technical and Peggy had been left in the dust as the two discussed the technology they had originally removed from Ms. Lewis’ person. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Howard (who had seemed to forget how to knock) barreling into her office carrying a mass of written math equations. 

“So, in light of everything Peggy, I think our best bet is to set Ms. Lewis up with a new identity and give her a job here.”

“You must be joking.”

“I’m really not.”


	3. Chapter 3

“So you’re just going to trust this woman based off a few articles and one conversation?” Peggy asked. The feeling that she was missing something major still leaving her unsettled. 

“What makes you think I trust her?” 

Peggy resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. Ms. Lewis (while dressed oddly, how futuristic) was rather attractive and it would probably not be the last time Howard made a less than intelligent move when there was a pair of shapely legs (among other things) involved. 

“We can’t leave her locked up and we can’t let her go. She’s not wanted for any crime. So we keep an eye on her instead. If she turns out to be above board then we have another female agent that by all appearances can at the very least handle stressful situations. Worst comes to worst, we catch her stealing state secrets and we shoot her. After finding out who she works for first. Or the moral equivalent of what I just said.”

“Very well, but starting a new identity from square one takes time.” She was mentally running a check list of the many favors she was going to have to call in to get this done in a few weeks’ time. 

“Just alter the Carbonell one. In all honesty when are you going to have the time to get that much field work in any way?” ordered Howard. “The specs for that identity almost match Ms. Lewis. Eye color and height are easy enough to change, and we’ve got all the supporting documents required prepped. This needs to be kept quiet. That means she assumes the identity ASAP, we get her assimilated into this time period, and the intel that she might not be from our time is buried along with her original identity.” 

“What if she balks at this idea?” 

“What else and where else could she go if she’s telling us the truth?” and that seemed to be the end of that discussion. Howard was already halfway out the door with his papers before Peggy had the ability to answer back. “See if we can get this wrapped up today, Peggy. If anyone asks too many questions about her in the meantime just call it a training exercise and move forward from there.”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
“Ms. Lewis.” She greeted the younger woman a little more curtly than she would have liked to, but the day was long and only going to get worse at this point.

“Agent Carter.” Ms. Lewis replied from where she was standing by the small barred window of her room. 

“If you would follow me please, we have reached some final decisions concerning your situation.”

“Do I get a say in these ‘decisions’.”

Peggy just shot her a look and the girl rolled her ideas in return.

“Of course I don’t. Very well. I’ll keep calm and carry on and all that jazz and stuff.”  
.  
.  
.  
“No.”

“Ms. Lewis we are being very generous with this offer.”

“No.”

“You don’t understand.”

“No you don’t understand…” this was new. Ms. Lewis had been under S.H.I.E.L.D. custody for almost four days now and Peggy had yet to see her really rattled by anything until now.

“It is imperative that we get you an identity quickly and find a way to introduce you to the general public as a real person in this time and place.” 

“Yes, yes, I get that. I’m not a fucking idiot.” Apparently women swore like soldiers in the future, but honestly Peggy was finding it a little refreshing at times. “But not this one. 

Find me a different identity. Literally let me be anyone else.”

“We don’t have the time to create a different identity for you. This one already was such a close match that it makes it very easy for us to tweak it for you.” Replied Peggy taking a seat across from Ms. Lewis. 

“I understand that, I really do understand the amount of bureaucratic crap you have to wade through to make this work in the first place. But I can’t be this person. I really can’t.” Ms. Lewis was looking more and more distressed by the second, but she wasn’t giving Peggy information to work with. 

“I’m going to need an extremely convincing reason to give you a different identity. Howard Stark’s not the easiest man to dissuade once he’s given an order.”  
“Well who the hell was this identity created for in the first place, let’s just give it back to that girl and start over.” 

“It was supposed to be mine, but realistically I was never really going to use it much.” 

Ms. Lewis blinked and then sat back in her own chair and silently assessed Peggy for a few moments. 

“Please please tell me that Maria Collins Carbonell is a very popular name in this day and age.” 

Peggy offered a weak “It’s not uncommon” in an effort to move things forward. The woman formally known as Darcy Lewis just gave her a look like she knew she was being humored. 

“I have just one favor to ask.”

“I cannot promise you anything until I hear what this favor is…”

“Can we avoid telling Mr. Stark I was unhappy with this identity choice? And maybe just keep him far far away from me?”

Peggy laughed at this before agreeing. 

“That shouldn’t be that difficult, he’s rarely around. Mostly off running his company, among other things...”

“Uh huh.” The new Ms. Carbonell looked highly skeptical at her response. “If you say so.”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
She took to some of her immersion classes much quicker than others. Ms. Carbonell seemed to find the classes on current vernacular most amusing. Music she was completely on top of within hours and seemed to find a perverse joy in singing loudly at some of the more stoic agents. Unlike many of the agents recruited from the New York City area, the girl knew how to drive a car. She could type quickly even though she had to be taught from scratch on how to use a type writer. It was something that baffled her teachers to no end.   
Clothing had to be the biggest challenge. Carbonell balked at dresses on a day to day basis and generally bitched like hell when she had no other choice. Liked jeans, slacks, and layers and generally nothing that would help her fit in with what her identity claimed she was. Fashion sense was a gene that the girl apparently did not possess. If her clothes hadn’t been carefully selected and provided for her, there was every chance that Carbonell would have happily ran around the office dressed like a male factory worker. 

Peggy, though she hated to admit, often agreed with Carbonell when it came to the clothing. Pants were really much more practical in ninety percent of situations.   
Carbonell was also quite educated. She spoke Spanish, knew some Latin, and could recognize Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese and Russian instantly. 

She could shoot a gun, but kept asking for the weapon they had taken from her the first day. S.H.I.E.L.D. refused.


	4. Chapter 4

Darcy would never claim that she was enjoying herself or even really adapting to the whole situation. She was well aware that she was currently being sheltered in a mini-S.H.I.E.L.D. bubble protecting her from real life in the 60’s. She was a bit shocked about the time travel thing. But she was dealing with it. And by dealing with it she meant she was trying her best to ignore the big picture and spent a lot of time complaining about the clothes she was forced to wear. So, not dealing. 

She wondered what Jane was doing. A lot. After all the woman had attempted to rip apart time and space for a space-hottie she had known for like, 3 days, so Darcy was fairly confident that as Jane’s science minion/BFF/official playlist maker of the last few years, Jane was out there in the future sciencing her best to get Darcy back. She hoped. Like really hoped. Occasionally begged, pleaded, and prayed. 

She wrote notes. Lots of notes. Song lyrics, lines from books and movies, internet memes, and names of people she knew. 

Sometimes she kept them.

Sometimes she had to destroy them right after.

Sometimes she forgot things. How things looked, tasted, and sounded. 

Dates of important events (both personal and worldwide). She had never fucking missed Google and internet more than now. That week Future! S.H.I.E.L.D had blocked out all their communications after New Mexico had nothing on this. It was culture shock like nothing else. 

Then there was the elephant in the room she really really really did not want to confront. 

Maria Collins Carbonell. 

Some of her history texts had put Carbonell right up there with Jacqueline Kennedy when it came to famous women of this time period. 

Except, it was Maria Stark that was making the waves. Scandalous waves. Waves that would shape the future in ways that Darcy did not want to think about.   
So, naturally, anytime she had a second to herself outside of training and being oh-so-subtly being question further by Agent Carter, it’s what she thought about. A lot.   
.  
.  
.

She also occasionally thought about Howard Stark.   
.  
.  
.  
“So are you ever going to trust me enough to let me loose on New York City, or even the state of New Jersey? At this point I’m not very choosey. Hell, I’d be down for a short drive to the gas station down the road.” Asked Darcy over one of her ‘lunches’ with Peggy Carter.

She still wasn’t sure what Peggy Carter thought of her. The Brit had been rightfully suspicious of Darcy from the start, but she had also been the friendliest and most helpful person in the S.H.I.E.L.D. base that Darcy interacted with. It probably helped that Darcy was now one of the few women she had seen working around the base. Chalk it up to female solidarity or something.

“It’s just that I’m going a little insane here. Like is this going to be what the rest of my life is like? Wandering non-descript secret government halls and annoying the hell out of your jackbooted thugs?” 

Peggy twisted her lips into what could have been a sympathetic smile. 

Darcy continued before Peggy could respond. “Can’t I get a temp job or go work for an office or something? I was able to use the typewriter last week without messing things up that badly.”

“It’s not my call, unfortunately, Maria. You are to continue here at S.H.I.E.L.D. until Mr. Stark returns from his trip.” Peggy might be one of a handful of people that knew her real name, but she never ever failed to call her Maria or Ms. Carbonell. Darcy didn’t like it. 

“Howard Stark is calling the shots on what my future holds?”

“That would be correct on some parts. He’s the one that decided to get you an identity and to try and assimilate you into the time as much as possible. He also tends to ‘call the shots’ on most actions around these parts.” 

Darcy took a second to process this information and then decided she may as well go for broke at this point.

“If that’s so, where’s he been for the last few months then?”

“That’s classified, excuse me, I have a phone call to make soon.”

Well, that was an obvious shut down.  
.  
.  
.  
Darcy is flopped down on her bed in her small room reading Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale in a desperate attempt to keep her mind occupied. Despite finding it a bit different, less campy at times, from every James Bond movie she’d ever seen it had managed to grab her attention. Luckily for her there was a number of them already written that she’d be able to get her hands on after she finished this one. 

So when someone ended up knocking on her door with quick, impatient hits, she was less than pleased with the interruption. But whoever it was, was insistent and she had to put her book down.

“What exactly do you want?” she snapped as she pulled the door open.

Howard Stark raised an eyebrow at her tone and smirked.

“Interrupting something, am I?” he asked as he looked over her shoulder, as if something scandalous was going to miraculously appear in the small room. When nothing did, he turned his gaze back to her. 

“Just spending some quality time with Mr. James Bond. Um, so, can I help you?” she asked not moving from where she blocked access to her room. She had not been prepared for Howard Stark to wind up at her door. 

“Which one?”

“Huh?”

“Which book are you on?” Howard asked, like he wasn’t just banging on her door like the world was going to end. 

“Casino Royale, and if you spoil any of the book for me, I will not be responsible for my actions.”

He laughed and nodded, like this was a completely acceptable response. 

“I met him once during the war.” 

“What? Huh?”

“Fleming, the author? I met him once when I was in London with the SSR during the war. Anyway, you hungry? I’m hungry. Dinner, I’ll buy. Peggy mentioned you were getting a little cabin feverish.” When Darcy just stood there staring at him, he rolled his eyes impatiently. But Darcy was a little stuck on how similar he sounded to Tony Stark back in her time. She had seen enough interviews once the man had become Iron Man to remember how he talked. The accent was thicker and different, but still. 

When Howard realized she wasn’t going to respond he reached out a hand and lightly clasped Darcy’s shoulder.

“Let’s go Maria. I got some questions for you anyway.” He gave her a small smile, perfect mustache twitching in humor, as she pulled herself back into the present situation.   
“Right, I’ll just.., go change then.” And promptly slammed the door in Howard’s face.


	5. Chapter 5

In a time not so long ago but far far in the future, Darcy would have worn jeans and sweaters and homemade hats and would have been so very comfortable in every way possible. Now confined in a dress, stockings, and less than sensible shoes (oh how she missed flip-flops, sneakers used at all times, and mismatched socks) and Howard Stark looking at her like she was a complicated math equation, she wasn’t even remotely comfortable. Her purse held a pair of gloves, for fucks’ sake. 

She finally gave up on being comfortable and opened the door to the hallway. Darcy was slightly amused to see that Howard had stuck around through her annoyed clothing change. He was leaning against the wall reading a thin file of papers. He must have had them stashed in his jacket. 

However uncomfortable she felt in the clothes didn’t seem to matter to Howard since his assessing full body scan seemed to indicate she’d passed whatever standards he possessed. 

“Dinner? Ready?” he asked as he folded the papers back into his suit jacket. 

“Yeah, thanks. So, sorry about slamming the door in your face.”

“Not the worst thing a woman has ever done to me.” He said as he moved to stand beside her.

“I know, I’ve read your biography.” 

Howard blinked at her. “My biography?”

“Um, yeah. So dinner. I hear you’re buying. Which is great since, ya know, I’m not officially employed yet.” 

Howard raised an eyebrow Darcy forced herself to shut up.

She locked up her room and allowed Howard to motion her forward. They made their way in silence to a door-an exit- that she hadn’t seen yet. He unlocked the door with a keypad that would not have looked out of place in a modern action movie, minus facial and retina scans. 

“After you…” he opened the door for her and waited for Darcy to move forward before he relocked the door after them. 

“That your car?” she asked staring out at the Cadillac Eldorado that was parked. 

“Yes.”

“Any chance you’ll let me drive?” 

“Doubtful, I haven’t started drinking yet today. Ask me again after dinner.” 

.  
.  
.

Dinner did indeed start with booze. Expensive scotch for Howard and an Italian sounding wine for her that Darcy could neither pronounce nor afford. It was far better than the 3 dollar bottles or 7 dollar boxes she used to pick up at Walmart. 

Howard, being the genius that he was, waited until Darcy was well into her third glass of wine and first dinner serving before breaking out the questions. 

“So, Maria, I was wondering if you could tell me more about this ‘Tony Stark’? His paper was fascinating.” Howard asked as if the topic was as light and boring as the weather.

Darcy glared at him over the top of her wine glass before focusing her attention to the shrimp scampi in front of her. 

“What is your scientific approach to time-travel?” she asked while seeming very interested in her food. 

Howard gave a small laugh and to Darcy’s complete shock started to recite with a smirk “There was a young lady named Bright, Whose speed was far faster than light; She started one day In a relative way, And returned on the previous night. A. H. Reginald Buller at his finest.” He might have continued on but they were interrupted by the waiter bearing the next round of food. 

Once the waiter left and first bites were savored by Darcy she jumped right back into the discussion. 

“What was that?”

“You don’t have limericks in the future?” Howard asked innocently.

“There once was a man from Nantucket, Who kept all his cash in a bucket. But his daughter, named Nan, Ran away with a man, And as for the bucket, Nantucket.”

“That one is even older than my example, darling. Try again.”

“I would but I don’t think the rest of the ones I remember are fit for respectable company.”

“I’m respectable company?” he leaned over the table to get a bit closer to Darcy, “I’m positive no woman has ever called me respectable before.”

“Trust me I wasn’t, I meant the wait staff. Anyway, back to my original question.”

Howard moved back to his side of the table before responding. 

“It’s not really my field of study. Einstein has written some excellent articles on the subject.”

“But you seem to believe I am telling the truth.”

“I’ve seen crazier things…not many, but still. Science is always finding new discoveries. And it helps that my company logo is on some of your personal belongings and I sure as hell didn’t sell them though my company.” 

“Tony Stark is a former CEO of your company. My boss and him have exchanged ideas about research. Never met the man, can only tell you what everyone else in my time could tell you about him.” 

“Well then maybe you can clarify why his last name is Stark?”

“Because he’s your son?”

“Damn, Jarvis was right. I do hate when that happens.”

Darcy blinked and looked confused. “I’m sorry? Who, what? Huh?”

“My butler, Edwin Jarvis. He keeps telling me I’m going to knock some random woman up one day, except he says it all disapproving and in a British accent women seem to adore. I do hate when his well-meant warnings come true. He becomes insufferable, Maria. Trust me. Plus, I think he and Peggy have money riding on this very topic. I wonder what the odds are currently at.”

Howard looked so dejected- either at the thought of his butler giving him a stern lecture or the idea of having to deal with an illegitimate son- that Darcy couldn’t help laughing in his face. 

“Does it help that I think you’re married when you have Tony?” if anything that statement made things worse. 

“I get married? To who?”

“Honestly, can’t remember the name, I’m sure she just became dusty footnotes I skipped over in history class.” 

“You’re lying. Have another glass of wine until you start being honest again.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Okay, try this on for size, Tall, Dark and Handsome. I won't be born for almost seven hundred years. How's that strike you?”   
― Lisa Tawn Bergren

“This is what I say: I've got good news and bad news.

The good news is, you don't have to worry, you can't change the past.

The bad news is, you don't have to worry, no matter how hard you try, you can't change the past.

The universe just doesn't put up with that. We aren't important enough. No one is. Even in our own lives. We're not strong enough, willful enough, skilled enough in chronodiegetic manipulation to be able to just accidentally change the entire course of anything, even ourselves.”   
― Charles Yu, How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe  
``````````````````````````````

Much to Howard’s disappointment Darcy had nursed that last glass of wine until the end of dinner. There would be no more deep dark insights into Howard Stark’s future over this meal. The last thing she wanted to do was give him a full history lesson of how she thought history was supposed to progress forward at this point. 

Things weren’t looking so great for her, nothing from Jane, and more involvement with Howard did not make for pleasant thoughts. Months and months had passed…and some days she was barely keeping her sanity together. 

It did not help that Howard was delightful company during dinner when she wasn’t preoccupied by panicking over her role as ‘Maria’. 

Instead she focused on the fact that since he played a significant role in S.H.I.E.L.D. he might have some say if she could get a fucking job or not. They were training her-yes. But she wasn’t actually allowed to do anything and she was at the end of her rope. Howard had seemed to understand this frustration if his less than complimentary mutterings about the Manhattan Project were any indication. So at least there was a small chance there that she might be allowed to do something with her endless days and boredom. 

Really, at this point she’d be happy to answer dummy phones and stamp letters. Something to take up some of her time. 

And on top of all that, he refused to let her drive the car back to S.H.I.E.L.D.   
.  
.  
.  
.  
“No. No. No. Absolutely not.” 

Peggy stood hand on one hip, exasperated at the protesting woman in front of her. She was in agreement with Maria, she had protested the idea also. For different reasons of course, but her protests had been ignored. It didn’t help that Howard had taken Carbonell to dinner and then failed to give Peggy any information about what they talked about. 

“Howard seemed to think this was a good idea.”

Maria’s face had turned an interesting shade of white at that statement. She also backed up and started to lean against the wall as if to steady herself. 

“Look, Agent Carter, I know you still don’t trust me. Can’t blame you for that. How about we do this. I have an identity now, basic skills, and you MIB types have the ability to ship me off to some other city or shitty small town. Let me get a normal job and never talk to any of you guys again. Best case scenario, my Boss is halfway done figuring out how to get me back to my time and bitching about modern day MIB’s stifling her publications. Worst case, I’m stuck here but you don’t have to worry about me spying on your organization.” 

Maria made a very convincing argument, one that Peggy thought should actually happen, but it wasn’t her call.

“Or you could accompany Mr. Stark to this dinner he has to attend.” 

“Why? Doesn’t he have like a harem of easy women on rotation for situations like this?”

And then there were times that Peggy really liked this woman and wished she could trust her completely. It would be nice to have another female co-worker around. Especially one that hadn’t slept with Howard yet and didn’t seem to think that that was a viable option for the future. She liked the snarkiness and sarcasm. It was times like these she really missed living with Angie. 

“He certainly used too. He’s been a lot less…well he’s a little more tolerable the last year or so… My point Agent Carbonell is that this is non-negotiable. We are currently investigating a number of people that may be attending this social event.” 

“What are we investigating?”

Carbonell rolled her eyes before Peggy got a chance to reply.

“Let me guess, that’s classified?”

Peggy really hoped this woman turned out to be above board on things, because she’d be hell of fun on poker nights with Angie. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Howard will ignore my advice and give you more information when the time comes. He seems strangely fond of you.”

“Oh, god. Don’t say shit like that.” She was still looking unnervingly pale, from where Peggy was standing. 

“Did something happen over dinner that I should know about Agent Carbonell? You are not looking well at all.” Horror wasn’t the common response to spending time with Howard.   
Anger, bitter disappointment, and self-loathing, yes if you had made the mistake of sleeping with the man. But this was new. 

“I’m just homesick, I think. I should go…and be useless elsewhere. I’m about to start a new James Bond novel…sooo… Um, ok, bye.” Carbonell just about bolted out of the room as fast as possible. 

~0~0~

The first thing Dr. Jane Foster did when she realized her friend and assistant had disappeared had been to grab a permanent marker (black despite the multi-colored pack Darcy just had to have) and a big sheet of cardboard ripped off a packing box. 

Crude yes. 

Effective?

Well it was better than some other options. 

Her sign read in big dark letters: THOR. DARCY MISSING. COME BACK. THANKS, HEIMDALL. 

She really needed to find a better way to communicate. Posting a sign outside her lab for Heimdall to see and then report to Thor was not the best form of communication in the galaxy. She also really wished Thor’s allspeak worked a little bit better with written languages so she could give a little bit more detail than ‘Darcy missing’. But to be fair, outside of a handful of scientists most people wouldn’t be able to even slightly comprehend the few theories she had racing through her brain. 

The next thing she did was start writing down every single thing she could remember about the moment Darcy disappeared in front of her. No detail could be missed. All the data was needed for fixing the problem. The only problem with that? She had no idea what had happened. 

But she did know this. Darcy was missing and Jane had to find a way to get her back.


	7. Chapter 7

“No no no no no.”

“This is starting to become a theme with you isn’t it Agent Carbonell? You might want to avoid that when Howard arrives, he’ll start butchering Shakespeare in an attempt to be humorous.” 

Darcy glared at Agent Carter and the long fancy dress bag she had draped over one arm. 

“Well may be if you didn’t keep giving me bad news then I wouldn’t have to protest as much. Huh, ever thought about that?”

“Am I going to have to handcuff you to that chair as they do your hair and make-up?” the British woman asked smirking a little. 

“Is there a third option?” fired back Darcy, but she still took a seat in front of the ornate vanity table. “That doesn’t involve me going to a party full of 60’s celebrities as Stark’s obscenely young date? You originally just billed this whole situation to me as ‘dinner’ and ‘investigating’.” 

They were in New York City, in a rather fancy town house. Apparently, from what she had surmised based off the comments of Peggy and the two women Peggy had hired to do her hair and makeup, Mr. Stark had given? lent? this house to Peggy years ago. If this was one of his ‘small’ ‘spare’ residencies, Darcy hated that she was excited to see what his real house looked like. She also wanted to avoid ever seeing his home. She didn’t have much time to ponder the question though, since the two ladies that Peggy had introduced as Mary and Linda were already poking and prodding at her face and hair. 

“Why is that dress white?” she asked when she was finally able to get a glimpse in the mirror as Peggy could be seen in the background removing it from the bag. “White is not a good color for me.” 

It might not have been a good color for her but it was pretty. A strapless shimmery white floor length gown was carefully placed over a chair. There was a almost mess like covering in black and white that appeared to drape over it. So at least it wasn’t completely white in the end. 

“Unfortunately, you, nor us had a choice in the matter. The invite Howard received stated strictly black and white. It should be a most classy affair.” 

“Oh joy, well you have clearly picked the right girl for the job. We all know I just ooze class.”

Peggy was laughing in the background as Darcy heard her rummaging around in another bag. 

“Well I’m sure this will help with that…” Peggy finished as moved closer to hand the hair dresser a small black and white mask glinting with crystals.   
.  
.  
.  
“What the hell is this?” Darcy muttered into Howard’s ear as she pressed in closer to his side as he helped her out of the back of the limo. Lights, cameras, and shining shimmery rich people surrounded them. She was suddenly very thankful for the custom made dress Peggy had supplied for her and the expensive jewelry that Howard had given to her to wear during the drive over. She had a feeling she was wearing more than what her college degree had cost her in clothing and jewels. It was a disturbing thought. The stunning handmade filigree mask covering her eyes and brow were surprisingly comfortable, her shoes less so. Howard helping her up and offering his arm was a welcome relief. 

“Might want to read the paper more often, darling.” He whispered back. “It’s being heralded as the ‘party of the century’ already. Now smile for the cameras.” He ordered as flashes went off around them. 

The street was well lit and the side walk leading up to iconic Plaza Hotel was sectioned off and covered to protect the arrivals from the misty rain that fell. Police officers could be seen keeping crowds of loud gawkers well away from the area. People were calling out names of actors and actresses and singers that Darcy recognized by name but were mostly way before her time. 

Howard, much as Peggy had predicted, had been more than willing to give Darcy a bit more information on the ride over to the Hotel. Truman Capote was throwing this massive party in honor of someone whose name Darcy promptly forgot. In an effort to impress and simultaneously piss a lot of people off for no reason other than it was a Monday and he could, the author had invited the most random assortment of celebrities, politicians, random small town doctors, and lots of young pretty women for a masquerade party. 

Howard was really killing two birds with one stone with this party. A number of guests were rumored to have questionable ties to things S.H.I.E.L.D. liked to monitor and Howard got to rub elbows with rich young starlets and business men. Apparently, Howard had been growing more and more distant from these sorts of events over the last few years and people were starting to talk. 

It sounded like the party list had been so selective that Darcy wasn’t even sure she was going to be allowed in the door, even if she was hanging off the arm of the infamous Howard Stark.

But security checked them over, quicker than many of the other arrivals it seemed, Darcy had a sneaking suspicion that some of the guards might also work for Stark in some capacity since she thought she had glimpsed a hand gun under his jacket back in the limo. But they gave the both of them the a-ok to move further into the Hotel and Darcy didn’t question it where they could hear. 

Now it was Howard’s turn to lean closer and talk quietly into her ear. 

“Have you read ‘In Cold Blood’ by any chance, Maria?” 

“Heard of it, fell asleep during the movie Capote, so not my idea of entertainment.” 

“Movie? Never mind, doesn’t sound very interesting. Ah, good. Me neither, we’ll wing it if anyone asks.” Darcy looked over at Howard who smiled back at her like they were sharing some great secret. She guessed in a way they were. 

He had put on a mask too before leaving the limo, but he clearly did not find it as comfortable as she found hers since he kept using his free hand to fiddle with it. 

“So what? We’ll just claim to have loved it, and been so speechless that we couldn’t possibly give more insight into the book than that…”

“Brilliant plan. Works for me. Unless you can talk intelligently about his other works?”

“I couldn’t name any of his other books if you held a gun to my head and threatened to shoot.” 

“Speechless pandering to the masses it is.” That earned Howard a small laugh and Darcy could feel the tension in her shoulders ease ever so slightly. 

“What about Frank Sinatra?” 

“What about him?” asked Darcy as Howard steered her forward, nodding occasionally to people he knew as they went. 

“Seen any of his movies?”

“Ocean’s 11? Is that out yet?” 

Howard smiled at her. He seemed to smile at more at her than he smiled at the few other people she had seen in interact with since she first was questioned by him. She had a feeling it wasn’t a normal expression for him. 

“Not a half-bad movie. You lucked out, Maria. That movie is actually a few years old now. And I know you have to have heard some of his songs on the radio the way you are obsessed with music. Anyway, he’s tolerable company at times and I know he’s supposed to be attending.” 

“Do you mind if we get ourselves a few of those glasses of champagne before throwing me to the wolves?” asked Darcy as she looked around at the lavishly decorated party. 

“Your plans keep getting better and better tonight, Maria.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Truman Capote threw this 16,000 ish dollar party in the mid sixties after the success of his book 'In Cold Blood'. It seemed like the sort of party Howard Stark would end up in if he was real. I'm playing a little fast and loose with exact dates and events so don't think they are set in stone. 
> 
> A big thank you for everyone that has read and has been continuing to read this story. I'm thrilled at the reviews I have been getting! 
> 
> Links for Darcy and Howard's clothing if anyone is interested:   
> http://masqueboutique.com/product/crystal-metal-filigree-masquerade-mask/
> 
> http://masqueboutique.com/product/smoking-metal-filigree-mask/
> 
> https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Flovewontsaveus%2Ftruman-capotes-black-and-white-ball%2F&ei=FCp1VdbxH4y-ggTSpYuoDg&bvm=bv.95039771,d.eXY&psig=AFQjCNF0nc4DlfUvJ8xG1gVBLlZ7WCBkLg&ust=1433828137663514


	8. Chapter 8

“My body is detoxing after years of one night stands. They don't make gum or a patch for this Ted, but hey, billion dollar idea alert.”- Barney Stinson

“Call me old fashioned but I need to have sex with a girl at least three times before I'll even consider having dinner with her.”- Barney Stinson 

.  
.  
.  
.  
Darcy awoke to a pounding head, a soft pillow, rolling stomach, and thankfully last night’s fancy dress still firmly on her body. After a few minutes of burrowing her head in the pillow in an effort to avoid the sun coming in the windows and life in general, she forced herself to sit up. Then decided that that was a really shitty decision and burrowed back down into the covers. They were really comfortable. Unfortunately they weren’t her covers and she realized she didn’t know where the fuck she was. 

She dragged herself to the bathroom that was connected to the room. Spent who knows how long standing under the shower in an effort to feel human again (it sort of worked). When she gave up on the shower grabbed one of the large comfy towels folded by the tub and wrapped herself up in it. 

It was a nice bathroom. Beyond nice, snazzy, and expensive looking. Now that she was able to focus a little better and remember bits and pieces of the night before, she had a sinking feeling she knew exactly whose house she was in. 

The table beside the bed had a stack of folded clothes on it she must have missed when she first woke up. She was not about to bash clean clothes. Not at all.   
.  
.  
.  
On any other day, when she wasn’t extremely hung over and craving fried hash browns and any other forms of fried potatoes that existed in the world, she might have been more in awe of the house. But potatoes could be fried many different ways and her head was still pounding. 

Instead she just really wanted complete silence and greasy fried potatoes with ketchup. The only hangover cure she ever loved. 

And why did this house have so many fucking stairs?  
.  
.  
.  
The shoes were impeccably polished. She could see herself distorted in them from where she was slumped against the stairs and banister. Shiny. 

“Miss? Might I have a word?” asked the shiny shoes. 

“Uh huh.” She flopped her hand in the shoes direction and closed her eyes.

“Perhaps you would be so kind as to stand up first?” questioned the shoes. They sounded annoyed. And British. 

Darcy pulled herself upright using the banister. Now she could see that the shiny shoes belonged to a very well dressed man. Suit, tie, jacket, the whole nine yards. 

“Are you alright Miss...?”

“Lew-Carbonell.” She caught herself in time. Goodbye secret identity. 

“LewCarbonell?” The man asked sounding very skeptical. 

“Sorry, Maria Carbonell. I just, you know.” She waved a hand in his general direction again in clarification. 

“Right. Miss Carbonell.” Once he got her name correct he gave a small sigh and seemed to tense up. “Well I believe I must be the bearer of some bad news, Miss Carbonell. Mr. Stark had to leave quite suddenly this morning for a meeting with his board of directors.” 

Darcy just stared at him barely registering what he was saying. Well at least she had her first thought confirmed. This was Howard’s house. 

Shiny shoes, snazzy clothes was still talking though. She should probably focus. 

“Mr. Stark would like you to know, and I unfortunately quote him here ‘that it’s you, not him. He’s just very busy at work right now and you do not seem to hold his attention.’ I’m sure you’re a lovely young woman of not questionable morals at all, and in saying that, Mr. Stark would like you to have this bracelet as a reminder of your night together.” He held up a long thin box and opened it to show Darcy a diamond tennis bracelet. 

He sighed again. 

“Unfortunately I was not informed in advance and I did not get a chance to have your initials engraved on the clasp.” Now the man was sounding resigned and sarcastic all at once. Darcy was impressed. And confused. 

He held the box out to her. She took it and snapped it close. He made what could only be described as a hasty yet dignified retreat away from her. 

They looked at each other. 

Shiny shoes (oh boy did she need a better name, British dude was like the only other thing coming to mind) started talking again when she made no other reaction. 

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to escort you off the premises. Mr. Stark will of course cover your cab fare.” 

Darcy blinked and tried to wrap her mind around what she just heard. It took her a moment. He thought-her-Howard-oh hell no. 

“Wait. What the hell!?” she snapped and then stopped. Her own loud voice making her head hurt. 

“As I stated Mr. Stark…” The man began again now looking like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world.

“Mr. Stark should probably take this one from here. Sorry, Jarvis.” Howard broke in as he clapped a hand on the man’s (Jarvis?) shoulder. Effectively moving himself between a now pissed off and hungover Darcy and what must be his butler. 

He was dressed more casually than Darcy had ever seen him dressed, and those had to be oil stains on his shirt. 

“Maria this is Edwin Jarvis, I’ve told you about him before.” Edwin Jarvis looked mildly surprised at that statement. “Jarvis, Maria. She’s a friend from work.” 

“You wanna tell me what the hell is going on here Howard?” Darcy asked this time keeping her voice nice and low. 

“Is no an acceptable answer?” She glared. “Right, food first? You hungry? How’s lunch sound, darling?” 

“There better be fried potatoes.” 

The two men blinked at her. Howard after a second, laughed and moved to escort her off the banister. 

“I think we can manage to make you some fired potatoes.” 

“With salt.”

“You make difficult demands, but I think I can swing that.” 

“I assume out of the three of us, I’ll be the one cooking, sir?” asked Jarvis.

Howard turned and smirked at Darcy. “He sounds disapproving. Didn’t I tell you he always sounds disapproving when I’m around?” 

Darcy rolled her eyes and groaned. "Can you blame him?"


	9. Chapter 9

Darcy was feeling slightly better after her first plate of homemade hash browns and a tall glass of water. She could use an Advil or two, but apparently those weren’t invented yet. Or something. Jarvis and Howard had given her very odd looks when she had asked. Damn the 60’s. She just wanted Advil, Netflix, her iPod, and Jane yelling about science in the other room. 

She was forcing herself to think about the fact that she might never have three of those things ever again. And possibly Advil, she had never even fucking thought about a lot of everyday items that might not exist yet. When was Advil even invented?

“Is there anything else I can do to be of service, Miss? Sir?” 

Jarvis. 

Edwin Jarvis, the butler that was apparently placing bets with Peggy on when Howard was going to knock some girl up. 

Edwin Jarvis, the butler, that apparently had ‘kick last night’s one night stand’ out as a regular duty. Seriously, he had a speech, it was memorized and Jarvis had sounded like this was a common occurrence. And not a very pleasant one based on the expressions on his face when he had been giving it to her. 

“You don’t work for me, so in all honestly I can’t tell you to do shit. But I’m about to lay into your boss here for reasons and you look like someone who would appreciate that.”  
Jarvis looked slightly unsettled at her blunt and slightly off color statement. But as he glanced between her and Howard (who was finishing up his own plate of hash browns) he gave a small grin in her direction and pulled out one of the other kitchen chairs. 

“Do continue, Ms. Carbonell, don’t hold back on my account.” 

“Do I get a say in this?” asked Howard.

“No.” said Darcy.

“You do realize you work for me, right?”

“In what capacity, sir?” interrupted Jarvis. Darcy smirked at him and Howard sighed. “I’m just trying to see the complete picture here, sir.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D.” Howard muttered through his hands he now had up covering his face. 

“No. What I realize is that there is a lot of things I clearly cannot discuss here now with you for reasons. Fine, I have a feeling you aren’t going to drop any of those topics anytime soon. Fine. Whatever. But what the hell was that deal this morning? Do you always have your butler…” she got side tracked by said butler. “by the way, now that you aren’t, like trying to kick me out…you seem really cool. It might be the accent. It might be the fact that you seem to be enjoying me yelling at Howard.”

Jarvis coughed slightly which sound suspiciously like a small laugh. 

“Bribe women with jewelry and have them escorted off the property?” she finally finished turning back to Howard. 

“Maria, I…”

“You know what. This is actually none of my damn business. Here’s your bracelet back. Can I get a ride back to S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Of course Ms. Carbonell. If you would be so kind as to follow me?” 

Darcy didn’t look back to see Howard staring at her like she was a difficult piece of machinery in his workshop he couldn’t figure out how to fucking fix.   
.  
.  
.  
“Ms. Carbonell?”

Darcy paused as she was about to step out of the car.

“I don’t know who or what you are to Mr. Stark…but are the first woman I’ve seen him treat as an equal in a long time.”

“That’s not really saying much at all is it?”

“At times I feel as if Mr. Stark doesn’t believe he has equals.”

Darcy rolled her eyes, but with her back to Jarvis he couldn’t see it. But he seemed to sense her response anyway. 

“Mr. Stark is not a good man. But he’s not a bad one either.” 

Darcy turned and gave Jarvis a watery smile before mumbling ‘thanks’ and ditching the car as fast as possible.   
.  
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.  
Ever since Jane and New Mexico, Darcy had grown to love sitting on rooftops and staring up at the stars. Thankfully, S.H.I.E.L.D. had a lot of rooftop space. And the lights on the base and surrounding area were dim enough at night that she could see the stars. 

It was here, muffled slightly by the music from the portable radio she had carried up, that Howard found her crying late that night. 

“Darcy?”

Hearing her name, her real name did nothing to stop her crying as Howard took a seat next to her bundle of blankets. 

The music continued in the background. 

“You are one of the last people I want to see right now.” She sniffed as she used her sleeve to wipe her eyes. 

“I can leave.” 

“Stay, just…stay.”

Howard nodded but didn’t turn to look at her. Instead he stared out over the rooftop at the trees and the stars. 

It startled her when after a few minutes of silence between them, Howard asked her a question. 

“Can you name all the constellations?” They were clear in the sky overhead. 

“Yeah, my dad taught me as a kid, I knew them long before I met Jane. Taught me how to navigate by them too. I was really really bad at it. Anything slighlty related to math and I’m just sucky at it.”

“Navigate what?”

“Boats mostly. He used to fly planes, but they don’t use sextants for them anymore. At least I don’t think they do.”

Howard hummed slightly in response and they both fell silent again. 

“Do you like flying?” 

“Yes.”

“Is that common in your time?” 

“Is what common?”

“Flying? Is it accessible for everyone?” 

“It’s expensive based on the location and distance you are going…but it’s a really common way to travel. Did you really follow me up here to ask about travel in the 21st century?” asked Darcy thickly. She was feeling washed out and headachy. She was probably going to wake up tomorrow feeling drained and achy for the second day in a row now. 

“I wanted to make sure you were alright.” 

She ignored the concerned tone and his slight hesitation in responding. Like he was unsure of the words and unused to uttering such a phrase. He still wasn’t looking at her. 

“I don’t think things will ever be alright for me.”


	10. Chapter 10

I don't know why people are so keen to put the details of their private life in public; they forget that invisibility is a superpower.  
Banksy

If you don't want to have your private life splashed everywhere, why go to the restaurants and the places you know you're going to be photographed?  
Marina and the Diamonds  
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Darcy Lewis loved Facebook. Her hundreds of friends. Daily posts, shared memes, crazy hobos rockin’ the abs, and the ability to ‘stalk’ people so easily. It was an excellent way to be connected and yet keep people at a distance. 

She had been a waitress at this small bar and grill during college. Family run, that sort of thing. The owners weren’t the greatest, kinda jerks really. But she had kept her mouth shut (well she still talked a fucking lot, but never really said much) and made her money and didn’t look back after her shifts. One of her co-workers had gotten trashed one night and just lambasted the owners on Facebook. 

She was fired.

And Darcy learned a very important second hand lesson about posting things on Facebook. 

But the thing with Facebook and most of the internet in general was that there was so much fucking stuff posted every single minute of the day by so many selfie loving people, that 90% of what you posted didn’t fucking matter to anyone but you. 

It was always that 10% that got to you and could destroy your life. 

After all, once it was on the internet, it was there forever. 

Nothing could fuck up your life like social media in the 21st century.   
.  
.  
.  
Peggy found Darcy in one of the small side gyms running around the track. Off to the side cranked up to the max was her portable radio blaring a top hits station, that Peggy found to be grating to listen to. 

She waited a few minutes for Darcy to finish whatever lap requirement she had set for herself. She then turned down the radio as Darcy unwisely gulped down a glass of water. 

“What now?” Darcy sounded exhausted and pissed off. 

“Did you read the newspaper yesterday or today?” 

“No.” 

“You and Howard made the news.”

“That damn party I attended with him?” 

Peggy nodded, before opening up the paper to a black and white photo somewhere in the middle of the pages and handing it over to Darcy.   
The younger woman looked down at the photo. Peggy had seen Darcy in various states of nervousness and distress since she had magically appeared on their radar, but nothing like the way she looked at this instant. It was disturbing and she moved forward to grab Darcy’s shoulder. The girl looked ready to collapse at any second. 

“Darcy what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Darcy? Darcy? I’m pretty damn sure that by this point my name’s Maria. Maria fucking Carbonell.” Darcy snarled at Peggy before pushing Peggy’s hand off her shoulder and fleeing the exercise room. 

Peggy just stood there confused, next to the radio that was usually glued to the girl’s side.   
.  
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.  
Darcy, like any good political science student, had been to Washington, D.C. several times. She had visited just about every museum in the city, some more than once. After meeting the Black Widow and Hawkeye a few times not to mention Phil Coulson, she had basically camped out in the International Spy Museum for a week while Jane was doing some lecture at a different more sciency museum. Clint had joined her at one point and helpfully pointed out everything that was wrong in the museum. They had managed to sneak in booze and make it a drinking game. Good times. 

Anyway the point was this. Howard Stark was in like, half of D.C.’s museums if not more. Even the art museums had little plaques next to some famous works of art that stated they were on loan from the Stark Family collection. 

Which meant that at some point, Maria Stark had been important enough to be mentioned and featured beside her husband. Darcy hadn’t seen the exhibit herself, but Maria Stark had once been a feature in an exhibit that showcased famous and influential American women. 

The point was this. Darcy currently held a crumpled and slightly tearstained newspaper. It featured a photo now two days old at most. It was a photo Darcy had first seen faded and behind glass about three years ago. A copy that had seen much better days than the increasingly soggy one she clutched in her own hands. A smiling, giggling, (now Darcy realized smashed out of her mind on expensive champagne) young Maria Carbonell hanging off the arm of infamous Howard Stark, playboy and inventor. The exhibit also housed, now that she was wracking her brains trying to remember, information on when the two had wed. 

She thought, but honestly could not be certain that the photo had been taken about a year before Howard and Maria’s controversial and scandalous marriage began. She remembered some statements about the vast age difference. Concerned statements from some of Stark’s ‘peers’ about gold diggers and how Howard was letting some broad turn his head…

Up to this point Darcy had hope that Maria wasn’t her. But that photo was pretty damning evidence that she didn’t make it back to her own time. 

Well screw that. 

Well ok, she probably couldn’t do much about that and she probably should start trying to remember every single detail she could vaguely remember from the museums.   
Or not. Ignorance, at this point would certainly be blissful. 

She missed Jane. 

She missed Jane’s lab. 

She missed her StarkPlayer and its thousands of slightly illegally downloaded songs. 

She missed Thor with his cheerful smiles and loud exuberant manner.   
.  
.  
.  
It was several hours later, after normal working hours at the SHIELD base when someone knocked on her door.

Darcy opened it to see Peggy holding up her portable radio that she had left behind in the gym. 

“I thought you might want this back. I also thought you might want this too.” Peggy held up a bag with a half-gallon of ice-cream in it in her other hand.

Darcy had to hold back another wave of tears that threatened to well up even after crying on and off most of the last two days. 

“While I’m unfortunately more than capable of inhaling that ice-cream all by myself. Do you wanna stick around and split it with me?”

“I was indeed hoping for that outcome.” Peggy held up two spoons that spoke largely about her strategic future planning.


	11. Chapter 11

.  
Working at the growing S.H.I.E.L.D. branch in New York City wasn’t nearly as exciting as Darcy would have hoped. She was starting to think that history textbooks made history a lot more interesting than it really was. The day to day grind of life was kinda boring without Netflix to kill a few hours each night. She mostly filed paperwork. A tedious job at the best of times, but far worse without the future convenience of laptops and internet. But she had to admit that is was better than doing next to nothing at the larger base she had been first brought to. When she wasn’t filing paperwork she was slowly integrating herself into some of New York City’s rich and famous’ social circles courtesy of her ties to Howard Stark. Apparently, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t trust any of those rich sons of bitches. 

She wasn’t really enjoying it to say the least. But at least she got to eat at some swanky restaurants. 

It didn’t help that Howard Stark had been off on some ‘business trip’ for the last two months. 

But it wasn’t all bad, just lonely. 

The good part was she had a slight bit of freedom to explore on her unofficial days off. She had a feeling she was being sporadically tailed and reported on, but overall it seemed that Agent Carter was coming around to the idea of trusting her on her own. 

And she had her own apartment. Well, room to be exact. Like the world’s tiny tiniest studio apartment walkup. Her legs had never looked better after all this walking and training. Naturally, when she wined and dined with socialites she omitted the part where she lived alone in a cramped apartment. It might ruin their shiny scandalous image of her as Howard’s latest fling. She’d be scandalous in a whole new, non-approved way.   
.  
.  
.

 

/Shit that hurt like a mother fucker/ was the slightly coherent thought that raced through Darcy’s brain as she hit the ground as fast as she could. Glass and metal raining down around her and the other passengers. Her arm was on fire from where she had been hit and she was going to have some nasty bruises from when she had slammed down on the car floor. / Shit! That was blood. And not just her blood. But still some of it was definitely her blood./ What the fuck was going on? 

In between the cries for help, swearing, and moaning a baby started to wail. And wail. And if the poor child had a mother tending to him five minutes ago, Darcy had a feeling he no longer did. 

There was little she could do though. Glass and twisted metal littered the floor in front of her face. Everything had gone dark. The only lights came from the glow of still lit cigarettes. Her arm was bleeding and she could hear more loud booming noises going off further down the subway line. She tugged her scarf free from her hair and pressed it to where she was bleeding. She could really fucking use a fucking cellphone and some emergency personal right about now. 

Darcy was in the process of inching up off the ground to better assess the situation, like the agent she really did not want to be would, when the car rocked again knocking her back down.   
.  
.  
.

It was to the muffled sounds of nurses giving orders and the beeping of the machine by her bed that Darcy woke up hearing. 

“Hello?” Darcy tried to call out but it came out all raspy and her throat was sore. Luckily or coincidently, a nurse pulled aside her curtain just moments later. 

“Miss Carbonell, it’s good to see you awake. You must be parched. Small sips.” The nurse instructed as she held a small cup up to Darcy’s mouth. Darcy had to squash the impulse to down the whole cup at once. She was really thirsty. 

“Better?” asked the nurse after she had taken several sips. 

“Um, yeah?” Darcy managed to answer. 

“More water?”

Darcy nodded in agreement. Just that small movement made her head hurt.

Once the nurse was assured that Darcy could handle holding the cup by herself and wasn’t going to pass out in front of her, she got up and left to attend to other patients.   
.  
.  
.  
“Maria.” 

“huhushuwha?” came Darcy’s brilliant reply. 

“Agent Carbonell.”

“Huh?” Darcy mumbled as she fumbled around for her glasses only to have them handed to her.

“How are you feeling, Maria?” 

Darcy got her glasses on, ignored the smudged fingerprints on the lens with difficulty, and forced herself to sit up in the bed a little bit higher.

“My arm and head hurt.”

“Well, I’m not a medical professional, but being caught in a bombing sometimes has that result. You are very lucky to be alive right now. You lost a substantial amount of blood.” 

Said Peggy as she handed Darcy a glass of water, before pulling a chair up next to the hospital bed. 

Darcy watched as she settled herself on the hospital chair and pulled out a pen and pad to take notes. 

“I’m going to need you to tell me everything that you remember up till now. Let’s start begin with you leaving your apartment that morning, unless you can think of a better place to begin?” 

Darcy took a sip of the water to clear her throat and try and collect her thoughts, she didn’t even know what day it was currently. Or even how long she had been in the hospital. 

“Um, I don’t remember much, but is the baby ok? The one I could hear crying in the same car as me?” she focused her attention back on her glass of water, missing the quick look of horror that had flashed over Peggy’s face. Darcy’s throat hurt still, she must have inhaled a lot of dust, smoke, and grime from the subway. 

“I’ll look over the hospital and the witness statements and see if I can find out after you give your statement. If that is acceptable?” Peggy asked softly as she reached out to awkwardly pat Darcy’s non-wounded arm. 

“Yeah, thanks.”  
.  
.  
.  
.  
Morse code. It was almost old fashioned at this point and slightly charming, a throwback from serving in the War together all those years ago. Peggy usually left him some sort of message, usually a demand he actually fill out his paperwork on time and correctly before leaving on his next trip. Followed by the occasional joke or anecdote. It was a nice little reminder that someone gave a damn about him out there. Even if they showed it by making tediously long coded messages. 

So when he when he was summoned to his makeshift office on the ship and told that Agent Carter was on the radio for him, he was guessing it wasn’t good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta-ed, like all the rest of the chapters. Feel free to point out mistakes :) Also, can not figure out how to enter italics in the chapter post.


	12. Chapter 12

0o0o0  
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.  
-Robert Fulghum

Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could.  
-Barbara de Angelis  
.  
.  
.  
.  
The reports following the attack-at least the ones Darcy received- stated that the attack was of terrorism on United States soil, and had nothing specifically to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. Other than the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. had a hand in preventing these sort of situations on occasion. Except this one, apparently. They were probably getting into a nice little argument with other letter agencies as to whose job it was to prevent this situation. Or they started it themselves. That was always the scary alternative option. 

So yeah, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Story of her fucking life at this point. 

At least that’s what Peggy said, and Darcy believed her about ninety percent of the time these days. 

Howard was still off on his trip, but clearly had received word of her situation. She had woken up one morning in the hospital to an adorably awkward Edwin Jarvis who came bearing flowers and one of Howard’s published technical papers. Edwin claimed that Howard had wanted her to have some ‘light reading’ while she was recovering. Edwin-clearly not on Howard’s behalf-also snuck her some chocolate he said his wife was fond of. 

And she thought Jane’s papers were hard to follow. Howard had to be worse. The two of them in one room would get on like wildfire. Both were that nice shade of genius/batshit crazy. But at least it wasn’t one size fits all one night stands diamond jewelry.   
.  
.  
.  
It was another three weeks after she left the hospital and was allowed to stay in her apartment by herself that Howard finally came back into town. She didn’t know how long he had been in town but having him show up at her door at 3 in the morning smelling of booze and probably something that included jet fuel or gasoline was not what she was expecting at all. 

“Lew-yis.” He knocked on the door and called in a loud voice.

Darcy rolled her eyes from her bed, but got up quickly to avoid having to explain to her neighbors why one of New York’s best and brightest was drunkenly banging on her door in the early morning hours. 

“Did you seriously just slur my name?” she asked once she jerked the door open to see Howard leaning against the door frame. His hand raised to knock again. 

“I am incredibly drunk, Lewis. Car-bon-ell had too many syllables.” He raised up a half empty bottle of scotch. Darcy was almost a hundred percent certain that it wasn’t his first bottle. As she looked closer she noticed he was wearing something similar to a wife beater with lots of grease stains on it. Could he not afford rags, for fucks’ sake? He was also wearing what looked like incredibly well tailored and expensive dress pants. The idea of those pants being ruined in a garage or in the name of science made her flinch. Talk about wasting money. 

“You can say syllables, but not Lewis?” She asked as she tugged him quickly into her apartment. 

“I’m a man of many talents. Thanks for inviting me over.” He said as he took in the small room with a disgruntled look. 

“I didn’t invite you over.” She snapped as she closed the door behind him. “And it’s three in the morning. I’m tired, you’re drunk, so can you just tell me what you want. Or why you thought it would be a fantastic idea to bang on my door at this time of the morning? Or what is the meaning of Life the Universe and Everything? ”

“Alcohol?”

“What?”

“I’d say the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is alcohol. Or science. Or scientifically made alcohol.” Howard brought the bottle to his lips and took a long sip. When he was done he held the bottle out to Darcy. She took it, but mostly as a precaution against him drinking more. 

“Uh huh” 

Without the bottle to entertain him, Howard seemed to think it was acceptable to wander around her flat and poke at her meagre belongings with disinterest. Since she didn’t own much and she’d probably do the same if she was drunk and she really didn’t give a shit to be honest, she let him meander around the small room. This kept his attention for less than two minutes before he made his way over to her bed. Finally he plopped down on the edge of her messy but still warm and cozy cocoon of blankets and mattress. 

“How’s the arm?” Howard asked after a few moments of playing ‘shifty eye contact and awkward silences’. “And the rest of your body?” he continued as he made a vague up and down hand movement in her direction. 

“It’s going to be scarred. My arm that is. Probably. My throat’s feeling better finally. First week or two there in the hospital I was really worried about it.”

“Peggy contacted me as soon as she could after it happened.”

“Ok…? That was nice of her? I guess?”

“I wanted to get back here sooner. To see you. But things happened.”

Darcy stood there confused. It was way too early in the morning for these types of conversations. She couldn’t quite seem to follow the exact track Howard was going with here.   
“I didn’t expect you to come back? For me that is? I mean you live here and work here so I’d assumed you’d you know come back for shit like that but. Um, you were off doing whatever the hell it was you were doing. Business I guess. Do you always randomly drop everything and come back for hospitalized employees?” 

Howard just blinked at her in a way that could only be described as stupidly. 

“I tend to go to extreme lengths for the few I consider my friends, Lewis.” 

Now it was Darcy’s turn to blink stupidly. 

“I’m your friend?”

“Yes?” he answered. 

“You seem unsure.” Stated Darcy.

“Well I’ve been informed by people much better at this than I, that friendship is a two way street, and tends to need two people to actually meet the definition in the broadest sense. 

“Oh. Right. Because millionaires always make friends with women twenty years younger than them.” Darcy thought for a second about what she had just said. “Scratch that. Millionaires always ‘make friends with women twenty years younger than them.’ Especially when they are good looking. And easy. Can I have some of this scotch?” anything to shut herself up. 

“It’s not like that. And yes, help yourself…” she had already taken a too large swig, and her face was scrunched up in an effort to swallow. 

“Right, I’m supposed to believe that.” Darcy replied once she had managed to get the drink down. 

Deciding that more booze was not in the cards for herself this morning and she needed any excuse to avoid Howard’s searching gaze, she moved over to the small sink and poured them both cups of water. 

“I know it’s not an ideal situation by any means. You technically are my employee. And you probably feel like you are entirely in over your head. And yes, if you continue to spend time with me in public people will say absolutely disgusting things about you. They won’t give a shit if what they say is true or not. Even if the company we were keeping was completely platonic.”

Darcy handed him one of the cups of water and sat down on the bed next to him. They sat side by side in silence again. 

“So this friendship of ours is completely platonic then?”

“This friendship is literally anything you want it to be Darcy.”

“Anything?”

“Yes.”


	13. Chapter 13

“Howard”

The man in question was sprawled out over more than half of Darcy’s small bed. He was also muttering something unintelligible into her pillow. But whatever it was she probably was not happy to hear him say it. She assumed anyway. 

“Howard!” this time she poked the billionaire in the side. When he didn’t move she did again. Harder. 

Having a drunk or possibly at this point hung over Howard Stark taking over her bed the mid-morning after what had to be hands down the most life changing conversation (provided he still remembered it now) was not her idea of fun. At least she wasn’t going to be bitched at at work for not coming in-Howard could handle that mess for her. She would happily play the ‘Stark’s my boss (sort of), make him face Peggy at work card’. 

“Howard.” This time when she poked him in the side, he swatted at her hand and rolled over to face her. 

He squinted up at her, wincing at the light coming in from the window across the room. 

“Where you planning on going into work today?” asked Darcy now that she finally had some semblance of his attention. 

“Where’d you sleep last night?” asked Howard groggily as he took in his position on the bed, Darcy being showered and dressed, and the bottle of scotch sitting on nightstand next to the bed. 

“Not in bed with you.”

“I gathered as much.” He groaned as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. 

“I just stayed up and read another James Bond novel once you passed out on my pillows. I want you have those cleaned. I think you drooled all over them.” 

“Right, I can do that. Well, hire someone to do that.” 

.  
.  
.

 

“Jarvis stopped by. He brought you a change of clothes, a shaving kit, a stack of files for work or something, and then he gave you a ‘look’.” She finger quoted the last words. 

“Then he offered to drive me to work so I wouldn’t be late. Instead I asked him to call Peggy for me and let the office know I was with you for the day. Just in case you weren’t capable of being a functioning human being once you woke up. 

Having known his Butler for years, Howard had a good idea of how the British man had been glaring at him disapprovingly when he stopped by. 

“Let me get dressed. I’ll take you out to lunch and we can discuss last night? Or this morning? That conversation we had.”

Darcy stared at him, surprised he even mentioned any part of the last few hours. 

“I did actually have a conversation with you right? I didn’t drunkenly imagine all of that, platonic friendship, stuff?” 

“You did use the word ‘platonic’ last night.” Darcy, now that she was positive that Howard was awake and not taking over her bed again, moved to sit down next to him on it. “You also might want to take a shower, before we leave for lunch, ok?”  
.  
.  
.  
After a good hour of listening to Howard complain about slumming it in her small bathroom shower stall (someone had used all the hot water before waking him up), trying to shave by the miniscule sink and mirror (that mustache, took a lot of work to maintain (Darcy had a fleeting memory of once thinking Tony Stark must have a crew of hairstylists on   
hand for his)), and finally seeing him smartly dressed, they were ready to go. 

Howard, now back to calling her Carbonell like it was the most natural thing in the world despite calling her Darcy a few hours ago, escorted her out to another flashy sports car. Or what she assumed counted as a sports car in the 60’s. It wasn’t one she recognized on sight. She should probably learn to look more impressed by this stuff.   
.  
.  
.  
.  
Lunch turned out to be a small Jewish deli hidden away in a section of the city that Darcy hadn’t explored yet. Based on the cars and people walking about, it wasn’t a section of the city that wasn’t wealthy by any means, but it looked like it was improving. Slowly. Possibly. 

Darcy was starting to think she was never going to understand any of Howard’s actions. One minute he’s complaining about her tiny ass apartment and the next he’s dragging her to equally high class places. For lunch. 

“Afternoon Aviva.”

And he knew the woman working the counter by name. 

“Stark, what are you doing back in this side of town? Read in the papers you bought yourself some land out in California.”

“Oh that’s strictly businesses, now.” Howard replied with a grin, a wide showman-gesture with his hands, and a wink at the woman who appeared to be ten years older than him. 

“Think I could ever abandon this paradise?” 

Aviva, or at least that’s what Howard had called her, rolled her eyes at his response. Then she gave a once over to Darcy who was standing next to Howard feeling increasingly fed up with the entire day. It was an appraising look, and it gave Darcy a feeling that most people were going to jump to two conclusions if she spent time with Howard in public.   
Ignoring Darcy, Aviva asked Howard something quickly and in a language she didn’t recognize. Howard answered her back and with a tone that sounded like he wasn’t having any part of that conversation. 

Instead he turned to introduce Darcy to the woman. 

“Aviva, meet Maria Collins Carbonell. Maria, Aviva. I’ll have the number seven this time. Thanks. Maria?”

Darcy blinked at the turn of events, she had half expected the tense conversation to go on a lot longer than it had. “Hi, um number eleven please.” She ordered as she took a quick second to look over the options posted above the deli counter. “Thank you.”

Howard led her to the back of the deli and into a booth that had a clear view of all the doors from where he took a seat. Darcy sat across from him.

“Friend of yours?” she asked in a low voice, jerking her head back towards Aviva. 

“Not really, my mother was friends with her mother when I was growing up. We ran into each other in the neighborhood and when mother could successfully drag me off to the synagogue. It didn’t happen much once I became faster than her, I had much better things to waste my time on than religious services.”

Darcy didn’t even know how to begin to respond to him, and she was thankful he continued to talk.

“But the food is good and no one bothers me here- most of the time at least- Anna Jarvis- Have you met her yet? Her cooking’s better, but she always gives me a harder time.”

“Probably because you make her husband do the most ridiculous shit. I’d kinda want to make you pay for some of the things Edwin’s had to do if I was her.” 

“There’s more to the story, but it’s not one I want to even remotely begin sharing in public, Carbonell.”

They both lapsed into silence when Aviva came out bearing two plates of sandwiches that looked fantastic. 

Once she dropped them off and moved far enough away for them not to be overheard, Howard threw Darcy for another loop.

“Are we going to talk about this morning?” he asked after he had taken a few bites of his sandwich. 

“Which part of this morning do you want to discuss?” she took a few bites of her own meal. She had to admit it was pretty damn good. 

“The part that didn’t involve me passing out on your bed in a rather embarrassing fashion.”

“Ok, let’s make this simple. What do you want from me Howard?”

“A relationship.” 

“A relationship.”

“Yes, but seeing as I have never actually been in one, I can’t really tell you what that involves. Apparently, it involves seeing a lot of that person and not sleeping with other women. And some vague talk about what we want from the future or something. How’s the food.” 

“S’good.” She answered a little shocked at his forthright answer. Her mind was racing with every single TV show, book, and history lesson she had ever seen and heard over the years. Each one of them was reminding her of how exactly Howard and Maria Stark lived out their days. 

“I think we need to talk more about me and how I got here, before we go further with this ‘relationship’ talk.”

Howard, who had been looking tired, slightly hung over, and almost relaxed, tensed up at her statement. 

“We’ll finish lunch and then head back to my private lab then? You alright with talking there?”

“Anyplace with good security.”

“My lab will work.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read in the slightest. Any major mistakes, please yell at me about. Also, who knew finishing a Masters program gives you so much more free time to write.

'Cause I got your picture  
I'm coming with you  
Dear Maria, count me in  
There's a story at the bottom of this bottle  
And I'm the pen  
-All Time Low  
.  
.  
.

 

Darcy on her one booze filled trip to Casa de Stark, had only had the pleasure of seeing a few rooms. Howard’s lab or workshop or secret lair, what ever you wanted to call it, was on a whole ‘nother level. Literally, he had it built underneath his New York mansion, and she was sure that 90% of the security measures in place wouldn’t hit the public sector for another ten to fifteen years. She asked for a secure to talk and she got exactly what she wanted.

“Want a tour?” he asked gesturing widely. 

“Peggy’s not going to arrest me for espionage after you show me around right?” 

“She’s starting to trust you, and I already do. So would you like a tour?” asked Howard as he flipped some switches and started to turn on some lights.   
Darcy stood in the door way and let him set everything up without her getting into the way. 

“I may as well, if this conversation goes right, you’ll never talk to me again, hopefully.” Her voice started to crack with emotion in a way she really did not appreciate in the slightest bit. 

“You know if you just tell me to get the fuck out of your life, outside of work of course, I will.” Said Howard as he leaned back against a draft table, hands fiddling with a tool, to face her.

“The main problem is I don’t think I want you to get out of my life. But the future fucking terrifies me. And I really just want to go home. To Jane, to my piles of student loans, to the internet, and to the fucking 21st century. This isn’t my home Howard. I’m kinda a drifter. Time travel doesn’t really seem like the worst experience ever. But I feel like the walls are closing in on me each and every new day I wake up in this century. Back home I’ve switched majors and moved so many times I can’t count….but here I’m Maria Collins Carbonell and I know what happens next in history.”

Howard stared at her during her outburst and just let her talk. He had been angling for these details for months now and he was fairly certain he wasn’t going to like everything he was going to hear. 

“So Howard I’m going to ask you this. You said you wanted a relationship with me. I need to know right now, before I go farther with this what you mean by that.”

“I’d marry you if I didn’t think you were looking for an escape route every chance you could. Hell, screw that, I’ll marry you if you want.”

“Marry me?” she scoffed hysterically. “You want to marry me?” 

“Well I admit it’s a far better set up for me than it is for you-since you don’t seem to give damn about my money-and you’re young, no one would blame me in the slightest for marrying a dame that looked like you. Even if you’re young enough to be my daughter.”

She was staring at him and he couldn’t tell if she was pissed off or having a panic attack at his words. So he kept talking trying to fix it all. 

“But people also don’t know what you look like sitting in holding cell waiting to find out if you even have a future. They haven’t seen you adjust to a whole new time and set of social rules that don’t suit you in the slightest. You’re smart. You make me laugh. You’re not completely clueless at science, but damn are you bad at math. You do have very nice legs and-“ he moved to indicate other parts of her body and she cut in before he could finish.

“I swear Howard if you…”

“My point is Darcy, I think we could make it work. I want to try and make it work. And I’ve never remotely, in the slightest bit, ever thought that about a woman before. So I guess all it really comes down to is what do you think?”

“Do you want kids?” she blurted out before she had a chance to think over what he had just said.

“When someone asks me that question I’m usually hoping the girl isn’t pregnant to be honest. As I stated before I’ve never considered anything permanent with a woman before. However, I do have a successful company and I’d prefer to leave it behind to my progeny verses someone else’s.” Howard moved away from the draft table and pulled over a stool. He motioned for her to take a seat. 

“You want a drink before we discuss this further?” he asked once she was perched on the stool.

“Whiskey, thanks.” 

He poured them both drinks, handed one to her and then pulled up a stool for himself.

“Tony Stark, huh?”

Darcy let out a shaky breath and laughed nervously. 

“You really don’t forget anything do you?”

“Not when the so called time-traveler claims he’s my son, no.” 

“I don’t want children. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted children, Howard. Do you know how many fights I’ve had with my mother on this topic? I’ve never liked them much. They’re cute as long as you can give them back to their owners-“

“You mean parents, right?” Howard asked with a smirk. 

“Yeah, those people crazy enough to want and have kids-parents, as you say.” She poured herself a generous second helping of whiskey. 

“I guess with the concept of time travel this does bring up some minor problems. After all, we don’t know how time travel actually works in your case. I’ve been researching it as much as I can and I think I’ve found some links, but it’s going to take years of studying and research as of right now.”

“So you’re saying you don’t think I’ll be getting back to the land of text messaging and netflix and Taylor Swift songs anytime soon.”

“If I knew what those three things were, I’d probably have to agree with you.” He took the bottle from her and topped off his own. “I’m going to find a way to get you back.”

“No you’re not Howard.”

“I will.” The way he said, it reminded Darcy forcibly of Jane staring up into the sky night after night sciencing to get Thor-and the last vestiges of her credibility in the scientific community-back. He had the same crazy certainty in his eyes that things would work out and he’d tear apart time and space to figure it out. 

She wanted to tell him to fuck off. To not give her slightest bit of hope that he would pull it off. But she couldn’t seem to bring herself to say the words. Instead she was about to pull them both back to the topic at hand when Howard started talking again. 

“Look, what I’m about to say isn’t a way to pressure you or make you feel like this is your only course of action. But I highly doubt I’m going to meet another woman that looks like you, that I can tolerate, and would even consider marrying. It’s not going to happen.”

Darcy refused to meet his eyes and downed the rest of the drink in her hand. 

“Howard and Maria Stark die sometime in the early nineties. That’s definitely you. And probably me. And I can’t even remember the exact date.” God she hated life right now-and she was starting to fucking cry too. “I can’t stop thinking about how I know when I’m going to die. I don’t want to fucking die, Howard!”

“Hey, come here. C’mere.” In a matter of seconds Howard was by her side and pulling her close and very very awkwardly patting her on the back as she sobbed into his suit jacket.   
.  
.  
.  
This was the second time she was waking up hungover and feeling lost in this house. At least this time she recognized the location and had a sneaking suspicion that as soon as she was able to haul her ass out of bed and make it downstairs, she’d be able to score fried hashbrowns with ketchup from Jarvis. 

One cold shower to make her feel alive, another hour face down in one of the most comfortable beds she’s ever slept on, and Darcy is finally ready to face the music downstairs.   
The kitchen is exactly how she remembered it from her first time, but instead of Jarvis glowering over having to kick out Howard’s girl du jour out, there’s a dark haired woman carving a turkey up for sandwiches behind the counter. 

“Hello, you must be Maria, Edwin’s told me all about you.” And thankfully the woman must be used to surly morning people with hangovers since she spoke in a low voice and quickly moved to pour Darcy a glass of water. She then moved to the stove and grabbed a heated plate that was loaded up with hashbrowns and put it in front of Darcy.

“My name’s Anna and if there is anything else I can get for you, Miss Carbonell just let me know.”

Darcy nodded. Manfully held back the impulse to burst into tears again (she had a feeling that was all she really did last night) and dug into her plate of food. They were really good hashbrowns. When she finally inhaled the last few bites, she pushed her plate aside and fiddled with her water glass. It was strange sitting around being waited on in what was essentially someone’s home. 

“Sorry I wasn’t very friendly before. It’s nice to meet you. Edwin talks about you all the time when I see him. It’s adorable really.” 

Darcy’s comment made Anna smile and blush lightly. Anna and Edwin were looking like they were one of those perfect adorable couples that just make you sick to watch. 

“Is Howard around?”

“He said to tell you he had to drive over to one of the SI factories. He’ll be back this evening. Mr. Stark said you were more than welcome to stay as long as you wish.” 

“Thanks, I’m just going to go back upstairs for a while.” 

“Of course, Miss. Carbonell.”

“Could you just call me Maria? If you don’t mind?”

“I can do that, Maria.”

“Thanks.”


	15. Chapter 15

“We love films because they makes us feel something. They speak to our desires, which are never small. They allow us to escape and to dream and to gaze into the eyes that are impossibly beautiful and huge. They fill us with longing. But also. they tell us to remember; they remind us of life. Remember, they say, how much it hurts to have your heart broken.”   
― Nina LaCour, Everything Leads to You

 

One the benefits of ‘dating’ and she used that term so very loosely, an incredibly rich and busy man was that he was always out of town on business. One of the downsides of ‘dating’ and incredibly rich and busy man was that he could afford to bring her where ever he went. 

That’s how after three days of hiding in her apartment and skipping work (Peggy hadn’t stopped by demanding to know why she wasn’t in the office, so she had a feeling Howard had filed for leave time for her) Howard showed up at her door and told her to pack her best clothes. 

Since she felt pretty shitty about avoiding him after everything she had told him she didn’t argue. 

So that’s how Darcy found herself on a private airplane being flown-somewhere-she wasn’t sure where, piloted by Howard himself. But there was a well-stocked bar, a stewardess that seemed to be able to create five star meals out of thin air, and a pile of the latest best-selling novels set up just for her. 

There were far worse places to have a quarter life crisis and contemplate your impending-though long term-death.   
.  
.  
.  
“What are we doing here anyway?” Darcy asked as she stood on one foot, attempting to put her other heel on. 

“Business meeting, for me. You have several options, of course. You can come with me-as my date, as a my co-worker, or my fiancé. You can also take my bank card, go have fun and try and forget I exist for a few hours.” 

“You know, you should maybe try and romance me a little more if you expect me to marry you anytime soon.”

“You haven’t said yes yet.”

“You haven’t kissed me, bought me a ring, or proposed in a nice way yet.”

Howard laughed and grabbed her hands from where she was digging around in her purse. He sank down to one knee and let one of her hands go to try and fumble around in his pocket- a task he should have done before kneeling. 

He finally managed to extract something small, round, and slightly greasy. 

“Darcy Lewis, will you marry me? Everything I can offer you, you don’t really want or need. But whaddaya going to do?” it was one of the first times Darcy could hear Howard’s strong New York accent coming through. He seemed to have learned how to hide it for business years ago. 

He took the nut he had finally gotten out of his pocket and put it into her hand. She was going to need a gallon of GoJo orange cleaner to get the grease stains off at this rate. (She had been disgustingly homesick at the sight of the bright orange five gallon bottle stowed on a shelf in Howard’s lab. It made her miss Jane and home more than ever).

“Wow, it’s what I’ve always dreamed of.” She deadpanned as she took the nut from him. Her hand shook slightly as she brought it up to eye level to examine it. But Howard was smirking and she was finding that she could barely contain her own laughter. 

“All my hypothetical girlfriends will be soooo jealous when I show this bad boy off.” It was too small for her ring finger so she slipped it onto her pinkie, she honestly had no idea if it was even the right hand. 

“So I’m assuming your answer is yes? Because if it’s no…I need that nut back, it belongs to one of the radios on the plane. I’m willing to sacrifice some high end electronics for my future-wife, but that’s about it.” 

Darcy rolled her eyes and snarked back. 

“That might be the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me, Howard. The answer is yes. I will marry you.” She tried to get the words out with a straight face, but she started laughing halfway through her answer. She only sounded slightly desperate-but mostly amused this time. 

Howard got back up to his feet and pulled her close, careful to not get grease on either one of their outfits. “I’ll buy you an actual engagement ring when we get back to New York.” 

“I wasn’t really worried about that-I figured you’d be able to afford a second ring. But, FYI, this one” she held up the nut to Howard’s face “is mine. You’re going to have to use something else to fix your radio.” 

“Is that right, Lewis? Maybe I can find a way to-“before he could move in closer and finish his sentence, the phone located beside the bed started to ring. 

“Damn-I really do have to leave for this business meeting.”

“Can I have your bank card and pretend you don’t exist and still be your fiancé?” 

“I’m pretty certain that’s how trophy wives all around the world do it. Here.” He pressed an envelope into her hand. “I’ll join you for dinner tonight?”

“Sounds nice-now go. Make lots of money-I don’t think I want to experience the ‘and for poorer’ side of our future vows.”  
.  
.  
.  
Monaco-since that was where Howard was apparently having a business meeting-had some damn fine restaurants in Darcy’s opinion. And some damn fine views. Maybe she would use the money that Howard had given her, buy herself a bathing suit and try and relax for a few hours. There had to be a beach or a pool around her somewhere that she could take full advantage of before meeting Howard back at the hotel for dinner. 

Or she could just wander around on the small streets and admire the buildings and outfits of the people walking by. 

It was nice and she’d be crazy to say no to a free mini-vacation-but this- this lifestyle was so beyond what she had ever imagined.   
.  
.  
.  
Dinner was an awkward affair. 

It might have just been the most awkward succession of moments ever. 

Darcy could only imagine what it looked like to an outside viewer.   
.  
.  
.  
Scene one (meet the characters): The newly engaged couple. Played by Howard Stark (the charming, dangerous, eccentric, pilot, genius millionaire, that likes to pretend he is the American answer to James Bond) and Darcy Lewis (the won’t-ever-be-able-to-pay-back-my-student-loans-on-this-salary-Jane-former-intern-extraordinaire, the maker of playlists for all occasions, the lightning-sister of Thor, and the reluctant time traveler) Note the age differences, everyone else certainly does. 

Scene two: the expensive restaurant. Played by a real restaurant that Darcy could not properly pronounce after three times of listening to Howard repeat it. 

Scene three: the perfectly set dinner table. Who really needs that many forks and spoons and what was Darcy supposed to do with them? Was this going to become a thing? Dinners where she was completely out of her element. 

Scene four: small talk. It’s hard to talk about work or personal life when both are considered highly covert. “How was your day.” “Fine, thank you, I watched rich people go shopping. And yours?” “It was busy. Lots of meetings. ” (The ‘I made more money than those suckers can imagine off this deal’ was implied as was ‘I’m actually spying for S.H.I.E.L.D. right now.’) 

Scene five: avoid breaking down in public due to stress and homesickness. Damn, she never cried this much back in the 21st century. 

Scene six: realize on the way out of the restaurant, that she just agreed to marry this man just hours before. Panic some more. 

Scene seven: For a first kiss it was pretty damn nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like usual, no beta. Thanks for sticking around and reading! I've broken a hundred reviews!!!! So excited. As a thank you-if anyone is remotely interested- the first two reviewers on this chapter will get a short fic written based off a prompt of their choosing (with in reason) if they want. And if they can figure out what I was trying to coherently write in that last sentence. Thanks so much guys!!!!


	16. Chapter 16

“If you choose bad companions, no one will believe that you are anything but bad yourself.”   
― Aesop, Aesop's Fables  
.  
.  
.

 

“It appears that congratulations are in order, Sir? Some poor soul is finally attempting to make an honest man out of you?” asked Jarvis as he stood looking down over the strewn parts of what must have been a car or plane engine, Howard’s lunch in hand. 

“Well yes, but you didn’t have to say it in that tone of voice. I thought you liked Maria.” Snapped back Howard, his voice echoing from where it was hidden behind some machinery. 

“I do like Maria, I’m under the impression that that young lady is far too good for you. However did you manage to convince her that marriage was in the cards? I do hope you are not leading her on.” The butler frowned as he placed the food down in an open spot on one of the work tables. 

“I’m not leading her on, J.” He banged sharply on the side of the machine and avoided Jarvis’s piercing glare.

“With all respect, Sir. I find that hard to believe.” 

Howard had known Edwin Jarvis for years now and rarely had the man opposed him straight to his face. He could think of two other times in his life where it had happened. Oh, sure Jarvis was known for giving his opinion, but he usually left Howard to fuck things up however he wanted to and grumbled as he had to clean up the messes. 

“What’s the issue here?” 

“She seems like a nice up standing girl that might be in over her head. I do not know what exactly is going on in her life, but having her name dragged through the mud in connection to yours, is not something she needs if you are not willing to support her through it.” 

That statement was enough for Howard to give up on whatever he was fiddling with and move out in the open to face Jarvis.

“May I ask you a question?”

“You're asking for permission?”

“It’s about Anna. And when you first met her. And how you were willing to destroy your career and your freedom for her after knowing her for such a short amount of time.”

“What exactly do you wish to ask me about that situation? You were there for it after all, for which I must be quite thankful.” 

“You barely knew her. You stole and forged documents for a girl you barely knew. What the fucking hell were you thinking?” 

“At the time it was entirely worth the risk, Sir.” Replied Jarvis a touch defensively. 

“And what if I hadn’t been around to clean it all up for you?” 

“Had Anna been allowed to leave Hungary and start a new life elsewhere, hopefully finding happiness, it still would have been worth it.” 

“And what if Anna hadn’t made it out of Hungary, what if you had gone to jail, and she was just another Jew that was never seen or heard from again?” 

“Some people are worth risking everything for, even if you know it’s all in vain. Better to have a go at it than not, right Sir? You’ve never taken the easy route in your life, either. 

How’s this connected to the lovely young Miss Carbonell?” 

Howard rubbed the bridge of his nose with one grease stained hand and sighed. It looked like whatever he had been working on was over for the day. 

“Have a seat Jarvis, I got a hell of a story to tell you. I think it goes without saying that-this-“Howard waved his hand between the two of them “does not leave this room.”  
.  
.  
.  
Despite their work environments and the seemingly inequalities of it, Edwin was the closest person outside of Peggy that could be called a friend-or even a best friend to Howard. 

“Time travel.” Jarvis looked incredulous at his own statement. “Miss Carbonell is from the future?” 

“Yes, but I haven’t made it to the really fucked up part yet, it gets better. Wait, I’m gonna get myself another drink, anything for you?” 

Jarvis shook his head no and settled back in his chair as Howard got up to fix himself a drink. Jarvis often wondered to himself how Howard functioned during Prohibition and then he decided he really didn’t want to know about even more laws that Howard might have sidestepped over the years. All he knew was Howard’s mansion had more mini-bars hidden around the place than the new ‘gaming’ centers cropping up out in Las Vegas. 

“Not only is she from the future, she works for this world famous astrophysicist, who basically changed the face of science as we know it. It was in her boss’s lab that she got   
thrown back in time.” Howard flopped back in his chair and continued his story. 

“Time travel, I can accept that after working for you all these years. Strange events and people tend to gravitate towards you. That does not explain your actions towards her. In fact it makes your decision to ask her to marry you even more concerning.” Jarvis leaned forward and stared at his boss. Howard avoided his gaze and focused on the drink in his hand instead.

“Jarvis, I-“

“No. Sir, I am not finished. I have only been informed of the barest set of facts here but it sounds like Miss Carbonell needs a way home, not a husband that will get bored with her when the gloss of adventure fades with the struggles of day to day life in a marriage.”

“Jarvis-“ Howard tried to cut in, but Jarvis wasn’t having any of it. 

“You better be bloody sure this is something you are willing to sacrifice for. I can barely tolerate the vapid, self absorbed leeches that parade through here, but I take marriage vows quite seriously and I will not tolerate nor work for a man that decides to destroy his own marriage.” 

Sometimes Howard forgot that not only was Jarvis former military, but he had also spent months running around with Peggy. He usually hid that side under staunch britishness and manners. 

“It’s always nice to hear how highly you think of me Jarvis.” Snapped Howard. 

“Well? Am I wrong? I certainly hope for Miss Carbonell’s sake that I am.” 

“Perhaps, you’ll let me finish my story?”

“Very well, but I think I would like that drink you offered.”  
.  
.  
.  
When they both were settled with drinks, Howard’s third at this point. Howard handed something over to Jarvis. Jarvis perched his drink precariously on the arm of his chair and used both hands to examine the device that Howard had given him. 

He had never seen anything quite like it. Some of Howard’s equipment in the lab or in the office looked sleek and flashy, but nothing quite compared to this small hand held device. 

“What is it?”

“It’s a mobile telephone. It’s also a highly advanced computer. It can store pages upon pages of data, while playing music, a host of other things, and make phone calls. It belongs to Maria.”

“We have nothing similar to this at this time?”

“That would be correct, but while the technology is highly fascinating, it’s not the reason I showed it to you. When Maria first arrived here S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscated all of her belongings. This ‘cell phone’ as she calls it was among the items. I was able to open some of the folders or ‘applications’ on the device. There I found a series of technical journal documents. Most were written by the woman Jane Foster-the scientist that Maria works for back in her time. However there were also a few articles written by a man named Anthony Edward Stark.” Howard abandoned his chair at this point and moved to pick up some remains of what might have once been a radio. He wasn’t the best at having conversations with people without something to fiddle with. He could do it for business meetings, but he was often moving around more and presenting new ideas. Not talking about how his life was quickly spiraling out of his control.

“Anthony Edward Stark?” 

“My son apparently.”

“Your son? How old is he now?”

“He’s not born yet, you can just forget about winning that bet I know you and Peggy have running. I haven’t knocked anyone up yet.” 

“That we know of.”

“I haven’t knocked any one up yet, can we please focus?” Howard gave up on the radio remains and moved over towards Jarvis’s chair, snatching the cell phone out of his hands as he passed by. 

“So who is the mother?”

“It better be Maria, since you just threatened me if I cheat on my wife.” 

Jarvis sighed and broke his perfect butler image by running his hand over his face and then through his hair. It might have been the most disheveled Howard had ever seen him.   
“I am not done with this conversation by any means, Sir. But I do believe I am going to have to call it a night. It has been quite the trip down the rabbit hole this evening, and I am sure it shall only get worse.” 

“You really have no idea.”

Edwin was half way out of the room when he turned back to his boss and friend.

“You think you can fix things for Miss Carbonell don’t you?”

“Weren’t you the one that just told me some things were worth doing no matter how hopeless it might seem?”


	17. Chapter 17

She hated to admit it. Really hated to admit it. Was going to make sure she never admitted it to anyone since she had never been crazy about the idea… But wedding dress shopping was fun. 

Well it wasn’t so much shopping as getting one custom designed. But it was still hella fun and Peggy Carter for all she could shoot better than most men-could also rock a dress and red lipstick like there was no tomorrow. 

Plus she might have watched too many Say Yes to the Dress episodes with Jane and a cheap bottle a vodka a time or two to not get a small thrill with shopping at the original   
Kleinfeld store. Which carried a selection of items that had nothing to do with weddings at all… it was strange and actually quite thrilling. In a detached historical way. The idea of getting married to Howard left her alternatively in states of happiness and despair. She never remembered having such extreme emotions in her first 20 years of life, and solidly lay all the blame on time travel. 

It also fun (another things she hated to admit) to have an unlimited budget to plan her wedding. It was still going to be a small affair despite the masses of money she was allowed to spend on it, it wasn’t like she or Howard had many close friends at all. 

The wedding party was going to consist of Peggy, the Jarvis’s and the remaining members of the Howling Commandos. Other people from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries would be attending of course, at least she thought they might, the list hadn’t been completely finalized yet, but Darcy had a feeling they had been invited simply out of savvy business reasons. Not a deep desire on Howard’s part to share his wedding day with them. 

Darcy and Peggy were critically examining a long display of shoes when Peggy brought up her concerns. Darcy had been expecting this from the minute Howard and she had gotten back to the states. She was surprised it had taken Agent Carter this long to mention anything.

“Have you given up on returning to your own time?”

“I wish I could. I think it would be easier if I could just accept that this was actually happening. Or stop accepting it? Or…I don’t even know how to put it in words.” Darcy said as she picked up one of the heeled shoes and looked at it closer. It looked painful. She placed it back on the rack haphazardly and the perfectly dressed saleswoman eyeing them from the desk made a distressed sound but didn’t protest. The idea of Howard Stark opening a line a credit for his young bride to shop here had to be enough of an incentive for the saleswoman to keep her mouth shut. 

“Any chance I can wear sandals or army boots down the aisle?” 

“Maybe if you wear the corresponding uniform to go with it, Howard used to make the girls he brought home dress up in costumes. Had a whole wardrobe full of them in his penthouse.” Peggy muttered next to her ear quietly to avoid having the saleswoman overhear. She seemed the type that would be more than happy to gain some new gossip material. They didn’t want to give anything new up and beyond the fact that Maria was getting her dress customized here. 

Peggy moved forward to fix the angle of the shoe that Darcy had put back down. 

“But I do think we will be able to find you something more comfortable if we keep looking. Perhaps after lunch?” 

“Food has never sounded better boss-lady.” 

.  
.  
.

Unlike Howard’s varying taste in restaurants that seemed to range from insanely expensive to street food of different ethnic backgrounds, Peggy seemed to be fairly constant in her love or at least tolerance for American diner food. Or perhaps she just enjoyed the normality of them. 

And Darcy had never been one to turn down a bacon cheese burger with fries, so everyone seemed happy with the suggestion. 

Once they were both situated in one of the diner booths and had cups of coffee in hand Peggy seemed eager to turn back to her original topic from the bridal shop.

“You and Howard in a marriage. I do hope you know what you are getting yourself into, Maria.” 

“You mentioned costumes.”

“Yes and you didn’t even flinch. Well you did, but you hid it well. Most people at least pretend to be scandalized.”

“I’m well aware that Howard is something of a womanizer. You should have seen some of the jackasses I’ve had to put up with back in my time. Makes Howard look charming, almost respectful.” Darcy replied as she grabbed the sugar container and spooned some into her coffee before pouring half of the creamer into her mug. He moved to hand the creamer off to Peggy but the older woman waved away her offer. 

“If it helps I think he’ll honestly do right by you. Doesn’t mean you won’t have to face an endless stream of his ex-conquests at parties and social events though.”

“Oh, right.” She had forgotten that Maria was quite the socialite. She had a feeling her days of wearing sweaters and ratty jeans in public were long in the past-future as it were. And wasn’t that a thought that could give anyone a headache. 

“Why are you marrying him?” And this must have been the Peggy Carter that made a man like Steve Rogers fall head over heels for. She pulled no punches and called them as she saw it. 

Darcy didn’t have a good answer for her. So she did what she would do for years to come with just about everything and everyone. She lied through her teeth and smiled as she   
did so.

“Because I love him.”

And Peggy smiled back a little sadly and turned the conversation back to shoes. 

Lying with a hint of truth always was easier for others to buy as sincere. 

.  
.  
.

Howard looked up from his glass of scotch and his research notes to see Darcy leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed. 

“Hello, darling. Didn’t think I’d be seeing you until I stopped by the office tomorrow. How’d shopping for the wedding go?” 

“No luck so far with shoes. Have you ever worn women’s shoes? They are fucking uncomfortable.”

“Classy response as ever, Darce. So did you find a dress?” he asked pushing aside his notes for the time being and pointing to the bottle of scotch in a silent invitation for her to join him. 

She nodded and moved to settle down on the arm of his leather chair. He handed her the drink and she relaxed a bit more once it was in her hand. 

“I think I have the dress figured out. I’m sure you’ll get the bill soon enough.” 

“Looking forward to it.” He muttered sarcastically before softening his words with a smirk in his fiancée’s direction.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yeah…”

“Homesick?”

“Yes. Probably not going away anytime soon.” She turned back to her drink before looking around the room at anything but Howard. He didn’t like the way she seemed to be closing herself off. If she had wanted to be alone she wouldn’t have made her way back to his mansion after being out with Peggy all day. 

“Come here.” It was easy for him to rest one of his hands intimately on the inside of her leg since she was sprawled on the arm rest just inches from him. She tensed up as soon as she felt contact. Even through the fabric of her pants Howard could feel how her muscles tensed. After a minute or so when he didn't make any more moves or push for anything else, Darcy eased back on the armrest once again, but more stiffly this time. 

“Is there anything outside of the normal ‘I’m trapped out of time, stressed as hell, worried about the future’ thing that you’d like to tell me about?” he asked as she avoided his searching gaze.


	18. Chapter 18

“No, nothing.” 

He moved his hand lightly on her covered thigh and felt her tense up again. 

“You don’t seem to like me touching you.”

She startled and glanced down at his hand still resting on her thigh.

“I’m just not used to it. Um…”

“Not used to it?” he raised his eyebrow as he looked up and over at Darcy. She blushed and frowned. 

“Yeah, like, I’ve dated but no one really sticks around long and I’ve moved around a lot as a kid, and there’s not many attractive, half way intelligent people -baring space gods with abs-in the middle of no-where- New Mexico…and...”

“You’re a virgin?”

“Well yes.” She snapped looking at him as if he was going to think that this was a crazier statement than claiming she was from 50 plus years in the future. “That would be the simplest way to phrase it.” 

“I see?” he asked, somewhat confused as to what the exact problem was. It wasn’t like a girl being a virgin was as rare as the super soldier serum they had used on Steve years ago. The fact that he hadn’t slept with her yet over the last few months mostly led him to believe this anyway. He could pretty honestly say the women he usually kept company with were far from being virginal, but then he never exactly prided himself on running in ‘good’ circles of people.

But he had a horrible sinking feeling that he was going to completely fuck this conversation up if he opened his mouth for too long. It was going to be just like that damn tennis bracelet incident all over again. Better to play it safe and make Darcy do all the talking. 

Except for the fact that it looked like she was also done talking on the subject. It was an awkward few minutes of silence for the both of them. 

“You gonna spend the night?” Like that. That question came out all wrong considering the topic they were not discussing for the last few minutes. Darcy went even tenser under his hand if that was at all possible. 

Talking to women was much easier when he was drunk and they focused on his money and he didn’t give a damn about what they thought of him the next morning. “I just meant it’s late and you do have a room set up here. I’m heading into S.H.I.E.L.D. in the morning anyway.” 

She relaxed a bit at that and nodded. 

“That was the plan.”

He relaxed back in his seat for a moment. 

“I do have one question. Actually several. Don’t yell at me.” Howard looked contemplative for a moment and it made Darcy laugh a little.

“Has that demand ever worked for you?”

“Ah, come to think of it, no it hasn’t.” He smiled at her. “If you don’t start yelling it’ll be a first. Anyway, here goes. When you first got here I took your electronic device from you. Some of the pictures on there were….”

“Of incredibly built men with their shirt off? Yeah, that would be my boss’s godly boyfriend. And his friends.” She smirked and fanned herself dramatically in reply. “So I can see your confusion with the virgin thing. Traipsing the wild world of 21st century hooking up and relationship thing is a mess. So I just kinda never let it get that far.”

“It’s not really an issue. I’d keep it out of the newspapers of course…”

“You guys have nothing on the internet, TMZ and tabloids in my time.” 

“TMZ?” 

“Trust me you don’t want to know. I really don’t want to know. Oh, god do I not want to know some of the things I’ve seen. Especially now. Ick.”

“Um?” 

“Not important, Howard.”

“Right” he sounded like he didn’t believe her in the slightest but at least she was in a better mood now. The ‘especially now’ part of that statement was troubling. 

“So you’re staying the night then?” he asked this time winking at her outrageously and tugging her off the armrest and into his lap. She yelped in surprise and swatted at him in mock outrage, but didn’t make a move to get up once she was settled in his arms. 

“You’ve already asked me that.” She said as she turned to press in closer to him, tucking her head in under his chin. “I’m staying the night, but not in your bed. I think normally it wouldn’t bother me, but it’s just too much with adjusting to everything here and now.” She settled in a little more comfortably against his chest. “I’ve dated worse than you, you know.”

“That sounds mildly disturbing, darling. I’m not really considered polite company. But I’m really just teasing you right now…don’t stress about it.”

Darcy sighed against his chest and he tightened his arms around her. He couldn’t remember if he had ever just sat like this with a woman before. It was…different. 

“Everything stresses me out lately. I used to be so easy going. I feel like I’ve had a personality transplant half the time.” She muttered into his jacket. “I’m sorry.”

“I haven’t time-travelled. But I think I understand a little bit of what you are feeling. After the war and I worked on this government-“

“The Manhattan Project?”

He felt himself go still. He was surprised he had even mentioned it in the first place. He still woke up some nights thinking he was back in Los Alamos. Darcy shifted her head away from his chest to look up at him.

He looked away and wished he had a glass of scotch in his hand again, instead he pulled Darcy back against his chest. It was oddly reassuring to have her there. “That would be the one.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine.” 

“I have a number of fond memories of my time in the SSR, being moved to the Manhattan Project was not one of them.” He sighed into her dark locks and got a faceful of hair for his troubles. This cuddling stuff took coordination neither of them seemed to possess naturally. “Even my fond memories are pretty shitty at times.” 

Darcy leaned in and pressed her lips against his collarbone and waited for him to continue.

“So I understand when it feels like you’re a completely different person than the one you were before.”

“Does it get easier?”

“Only after half a bottle of scotch or more.”

“I’m going to take that as a no. I’m not looking forward to spending the next few decades at the bottom of a bottle.” 

“It’s worse when I don’t have anything to keep my mind occupied.”

Darcy hummed in agreement the sound vibrating against his shirt and chest. 

“On a hopefully less horrific note do you know Richard Feynman?” Darcy asked as she finally seemed to get comfortable against him. 

“I’ll invite him over for dinner next time he’s in New York. He’s entertaining at worst, fantastic company at best.” 

“Are you fucking serious!? Jane’s going to be so jealous. I read one of his books and it was brilliant! And he’s so easy to follow considering how out of my league his science is.” 

“He writes books?” 

“Hell yeah, they’re brilliant.” 

“He is quite smart.”

“Fine be that way you stupid genius you.” 

He huffed a laugh against her hair and muttered “I’m smarter than him.”

“If you say so, Howie.” She was clearly humoring him.


	19. Chapter 19

“I think we ought to live happily ever after," and she thought he meant it. Sophie knew that living happily ever after with Howl would be a good deal more hair-raising than any storybook made it sound, though she was determined to try. "It should be hair-raising," added Howl.  
"And you'll exploit me," Sophie said.  
"And then you'll cut up all my suits to teach me.”  
― Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle

“We ruined each other by being together. We destroyed each other’s dreams.”  
― Kate Chisman, Run

“So," he called to her back, "Just out of curiosity, you know, purely conversation and all, at what age will you be entertaining offers of marriage?"

"You think it'll be so easy?" she called back over her shoulder. "No way. There will be tasks. Like in a fairy tale."  
"Sounds dangerous."  
"Very, so think twice."

"No need," he said. "You're worth it.”  
― Laini Taylor, Days of Blood & Starlight  
____________________________

The morning of the wedding of Howard Stark and Maria Collins Carbonell would break bright and clear. In the distance one could hear the sound of the beach and the occasional seagull calling out. However, inside the beach house’s master bedroom one could hear the muffled thumps of Darcy Lewis banging her head into her pillow in complete frustration combined with loud swearing at herself. 

“What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

Naturally there was no reply since it was about three in the morning, she was talking to herself, and she had spent the whole night alone. She had also spent the entire night tossing and turning, sick to her stomach about her wedding day. The shots she had downed around 10ish probably weren’t helping much either. 

“How the hell did you manage to land in the biggest fucking situation of your life-no make that history.”

Another thump sounded as she buried her head back into the pillow again, before she gave up and tossed it angrily on the floor.  
Darcy got up, walked quickly past the pile of wedding gifts that had migrated to her room, opened the bedroom door, and stole quietly down the backstairs of the house towards the kitchen. Luckily, no one else was around and she was able to fumble around on the wall for the spare set of car keys Howard had hung up there the day before without drawing attention to herself. 

She made it to the garage and was half inside one of Howard’s fancy cars in record time when her fiancé’s voice interrupted her struggle with the seat belt.

“I’d really appreciate if you didn’t run me over with my own car.”

“Fuck!” she screeched much louder than she had intended and accidently hit the horn on the car. 

“Hey, easy there.” Said Howard as he slid out from underneath the car on a steel framed creeper. 

Darcy rested her head against the steering wheel and breathed deeply in an attempt to settle her nerves. It didn’t seem to help her any based off the shaking in her hands. 

“Why were you just chilling under the fucking car in the dark at thee in the morning?”

“Why do you look like you were planning to take the car for a very long, unthought-out and impromptu road trip at three in the morning-on our wedding day.” 

“I think you just answered your own question, Howie.” 

He slid completely out from underneath the car and groaned as he got up. Maybe spending half the night under a car was not the best place for a good night’s rest. 

“Move over.”

“What?” she asked blinking at him stupidly as he was suddenly standing right next to the driver’s door. 

“Move over, let’s go for a drive and I don’t think you’re in any condition to be driving. Your hands are shaking like crazy.” 

She slid over to the right side of the car without arguing and handed the keys to Howard as he took over her spot. She slumped against the door and closed her eyes.  
After about driving aimlessly around the island for thirty minutes or so, Howard found an empty parking lot overlooking the beach and pulled into it. When he glanced over at Darcy she was curled up in a little ball, sound asleep.  
.  
.  
.  
She groaned as she woke up to a stiff neck and her check pressed to the cool glass to the car window. 

“Huh?” she mumbled rubbing a hand over her face in an effort to wake up. 

“Morning. That can’t have been comfortable for sleeping, but then I have slept in way worse places.”

“What time is it?” 

“Well I think it’s safe to say it’s not three in the morning anymore.” He glanced at the Rolex on his wrist before stretching out in the driver’s seat. “We’re rapidly approaching being late for our own wedding.” He mentioned casually, relaxing back in the seat and smiling over at her.

Darcy sat up and glanced nervously over at him. Howard just smirked back.

“Next time you try and flee your own wedding, might I suggest stealing a car that isn’t constantly being modified by its owner as a form of stress relief?” 

“Well usually you’re just hiding out in your lab.”

He laughed and looked over at Darcy who was finally feeling a little more alive at the moment. 

“I wish I had my lab out here, I spent three hours under this car last night, bored out of my mind. It already runs perfectly. That’s the last time I leave work behind at home. I need things to keep me occupied when I got free time on my hands.”

“Can it fly yet?” she asked sounding innocent but cracking a smirk at him. 

“Not this one. But that is gonna happen. I’ve always said I’d find a way to pull that off.” He sighed and looked out the window at the beach and avoided Darcy’s eyes. She had a feeling he had been saying that for quite a number of years now. 

“Well now that you’re awake, we’ll swing by the gas station, fill her up, you can drop me back off at the house and then you’re welcome to take the car and leave.”

Darcy blinked stupidly at him and rubbed her eyes some more in an effort to fully wake up and get a grasp on the conversation. 

“Ok, what are you talking about Howie?”

“Well, from where I was hiding underneath this car this morning, it looked like you were trying to run away from our rapidly approaching nuptials.” He sighed again, and from where Darcy was sitting he looked as exhausted as she felt. “I’m simply making easier for you if you want to leave now.”

“I was planning on coming back.”

“If you say so, it seemed a little unplanned from where I was. But that might have been because you were this close-“ he pinched two figures together in an obvious and exaggerated visual of how close she had gotten. “-to running me over with my own car.” 

“Whatever, I didn’t even manage to get the car started before you interrupted me. And I was panicking, ok. I didn’t have a plan I was just going crazy sitting up in the bedroom with nothing to keep my mind off of things. You’re not the only one who doesn’t handle not having something around to distract them at all times. It’s all moving too fast.” 

“Our marriage?”

“Life. As soon as I say ‘I do’ it all becomes even more terrifyingly real. And then we are really on a countdown.” 

“Let’s take a walk on the beach.” Was Howard’s only answer, before opening the door and getting out. Darcy followed after him from the passenger side.  
.  
.  
.  
They walked quietly side by side for a good ten minutes or so before Howard broke the silence. 

“I’ve been researching more about how you ended up here. There is a way back. It small and only happens when certain events line up. I think in simplest terms there are weak links in time where things-or a person- in your case, can physically travel back and forth. Of course, it gets obscenely complicated from there…but-“ He was about to get into what could only be described as a very long and technical explanation on the various possible forms of time travel. Darcy didn’t want to listen to any of them.

“Stop. Look, Howard. I like you. A lot. I might even be in love with you, which is good sense we’ll be married by this afternoon if you’ll still have me. But, I don’t want to hear about my chances of going back to my own time. I have to kill any hope of that if I want to be happy here and now. I do want to be happy here with you.” She turned towards Howard and reached out to grab the edges of his jacket and surged up to kiss him hard. 

Howard, used to making the first move, took a second or two to get with the program before his hands went to her waist to steady her firm against him.  
When she finally tried pulled back looking flushed and somewhat embarrassed by her actions, Howard pulled her back close. 

“We should head back. We don’t really want half of S.H.I.E.L.D. and several branches of the U.S. Military out looking for us because we were late to our own wedding.”


	20. Chapter 20

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.  
Jane Austen

Marriage is an adventure, like going to war.  
Gilbert K. Chesterton

No woman marries for money; they are all clever enough, before marrying a millionaire, to fall in love with him first.  
Cesare Pavese  
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“You look bloody awful.” Said Peggy as soon as Darcy let herself into the master bedroom. “Did you manage to rest at all last night?” 

“Barely.” She flopped down on the bed and buried her head in the pillow. It was her wedding day, she was going to burrow into this pillow and let Peggy handle all the details from this point forward. 

Unfortunity it seemed that Peggy wasn’t having going to eaisly go along with that plan. Darcy felt the bed dip where Peggy had sat down on the edge. The older woman reached out a hand and lightly rubbed Darcy’s shoulder soothingly. 

“You need to take a shower so we can get your make-up and hair set up.” 

“Can’t I just sleep for a few hours first.”

“I’m afraid not, don’t worry after the girls from the undercover department get through with you, you’ll at least look awake, even if you don’t feel it.” 

“Wow.” Muttered Darcy into her pillow before raising her head up enough to talk back clearly. “You’ve really aced this girl talk thing, I’m already feeling better right now.”

Peggy just rolled her eyes before clapping the younger woman on the back one more time and then getting up to get started on her list of Maid of Honor duties. When Darcy didn’t follow her off of the bed Peggy turned back around and started pulling on one of her arms. 

“Let’s get a move on now, Carbonell.”  
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.  
.  
Darcy had never really spent any hours of her childhood imagining her wedding day or her dress. But if she had it probably would have looked a lot different from the one she was currently being zipped into, since it didn’t look like a single one of the dresses her college or high school friends had plastered her Facebook wall with. Those tended to look a lot puffier and a lot more strapless than hers currently did.

It was an off shade of white (there was a fancy name for it, but Darcy couldn’t remember it) with a V-neck cut. Length wise it went down to about her ankles, a far cry from the tulle and ball gowns she was used to seeing in the 21st century. There was a lace overlay and lace that hung from her shoulders around the V-neck of the dress. It was   
surprisingly simple, and she adored it. 

And she was totally rocking the pillbox hat and small birdcage veil that covered just a portion of her face. 

Just sayin’.  
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.  
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Howard had handled finding an officiant and registering the paperwork for the wedding. Everything was set. All she had to do was step out of the Rolls Royce, walk by herself down the aisle, and repeat a few simple sentences and it would be all over. 

“You look white as a sheet.” Commented Peggy from where she was sitting next to Darcy in the back seat of the car.

“My sheets are this weird floral color I found on sale.” She snarked back, fiddling with her bouquet of fire orange roses. 

“Well at least you’re managing to still make jokes.” 

Darcy huffed an unamused sounding laugh and let herself out of the car before the driver could make it over to open it for her.   
.  
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Considering that none of her favorite music really existed yet, Darcy had handed off most of that wedding chore to Howard, so she didn’t really recognized the music she was walking slowly down the aisle to. She had taken a few glances around the small room and luckily recognized most of the people, either from work or from an old history textbook from college. Either way it was slightly comforting to not be surrounded by complete strangers.   
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Before she knew it, she was saying ‘I do’ in a voice that sounded nothing like her standard sarcasm and snark. Howard had dipped her low for a kiss that wasn’t particularly appropriate for a wedding ceremony to the cheers of the remaining members of the Howling Commandos, a smiling Peggy Carter, and Edwin Jarvis trying not to roll his eyes and cover his face in exasperation at his friend slash boss’s actions.   
.  
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After doing the normal song and dance with everyone giving their congratulations to the newly wedded couple, Howard tugged his new bride into one of the small unoccupied rooms off of the foyer. 

“You doing alright there, Mrs. Stark?” He drawled his heavier New York accent coming through as he pulled Darcy close.

“It’s over? Already?” she asked sounding a little stunned.

Howard laughed and leaned down to kiss her before replying, “Well the ceremony’s over. We can skip the reception if you want.” He winked at her and fiddled with her dress’s zipper as he suggested it. 

Darcy blushed and pushed lightly against his arm. “I’m hungry and I want to hear the Howling Commandos share a whole bunch of drunken stories you probably don’t have any desire for me to find out about.”

“That sounds like how the evening will progress. I would like to point out you can’t hold these stories against me because it’s completely possible your grandparents weren’t even alive during that time.”

She mock glared at him before rolling her eyes.

“Food, let’s go.” 

Before she could make it out the door to head towards the car, Howard had already spun her back in close to capture her lips again.   
When he finally pulled back to take a breath of air and to help straighten out Darcy’s dress where it had bunched up in his hands, they were both breathing a bit quicker than before and Howard had to wipe off his wife’s lipstick from where it had smeared. 

“Fine, we’ll get food. You know I hear hotels have kitchens and room service these days.” He grumbled only half-jokingly. 

“Well I’m sure you will put that hearsay to good use during our honeymoon,” she shot back not quite sounding as confident as she would have liked when it came to talking about her wedding night and honeymoon, “But for now, we are going to go join our friends and eat some of what I can only assume is very expensive catering.”


	21. Chapter 21

Used to the health conscious bars of the 2000’s the newly minted Mrs. Stark was finding it hard to breathe between Dum Dum’s thick cigar smoke, Howard’s cigarette, and various other wedding guests who had decided to smoke their cancer sticks of choice at her wedding reception. 

The fact that she hadn’t been able to stop laughing for the last 20 minutes didn’t help much either. 

“and then usin’ the badly trained squirrel that was gonna help us win the war, before he turned on us, lill’ bastard, we made it past the German camp. Ain’t that right Pegs?” asked Dugan around his cigar. 

“Most definitely. That is exactly how it bloody happened.” Peggy replied, eyes sparkling behind the glass of bourbon she was suddenly finding very interesting.   
Darcy could feel Howard’s whole body shaking in silent laughter from where he was slumped against her shoulder. 

“No way. I don’t believe a single word any of you liars are saying at this table.” Darcy broke in, sternly pointing her finger at her maid of honor and the rest of the Howling Commandos. 

Howard, who was still laughing, backed up his wife’s accusation. “Oh, Maria, you got it spot on I’m afraid.” 

“Well, Howie, ain’t that nice, maybe we ought to tell Maria here a real story eh? Like that time in France with-“ Howard quickly broke in before Dugan could get going. 

“Now that I come to think about it, that squirrel was a genius, I’d hire him for my company if only he had made it out of Poland alive.” 

“Liars. All of you.” 

“I taught him how to fly my plane.” Howard continued looking fondly off into the distance.

“Shut up Stark.” 

“Oh, really? You’re going to have to start using some other name for an insult now darlin’, now that Stark’s your name too.”   
.  
.  
.  
The night, or better put, early morning was winding down. Most, if not all, of the more respectable guests had left hours ago. Peggy, Jarvis (his wife had retired hours ago), and the Commandos were the only ones still around. 

“I’m supposed to believe that Stark here is taking a whole week off of work? I mean, I know it’s his honeymoon and all but I don’t bloody believe it.” Asked Falsworth after Howard mentioned that they ought to get to the airport before dawn. 

“Well I told him he was more than welcome to stay here and I could go on the trip alone. For some reason he didn’t buy that idea.” Said Darcy, her voice a little raspy from the smoke, liquor, and laughing. 

“Is that right?” asked Falsworth again as he glanced at Howard’s mock disgruntled facial expression. “Trying to ditch your husband already?” 

“Just my luck, Falsworth. I find a dame with nice legs and wit to match and she wants to honeymoon alone on my dime.” 

Darcy was comfortably snuggled into Howard’s suit jacket she had liberated to use as a pillow on the table about an hour ago. Thankfully Peggy seemed to read her mind and lightly smacked her husband on the back of the head. 

“Ah, Pegs.”

“Oh stop it Howard.”  
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She fell asleep slumped against Howard’s chest on the drive to the airport. When they finally arrived Howard had to shake her awake long enough to make it into the airplane.   
.  
.  
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“Maria.” 

Darcy snuggled her head deeper into the pillow and ignored the hand that was rubbing her arm.

“Maria.” 

“What?” she mumbled into her pillow when the voice got louder. 

“We’re here.”

“Huh?” she looked up sleepily to see Howard sitting on the arm rest of her seat trying to wake her up. 

“You slept through the whole flight.” 

Darcy sat up and rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake herself up better. Almost two full days with no sleep and the stress of getting married was enough to have made her sleep through an entire transatlantic flight. 

“Where are we?” she asked moving towards the window to look out at her honeymoon destination. 

“Costa del Sol region. Spending the week sunbathing on the Mediterranean Sea sound alright to you?” asked Howard as she shifted to small plane window open. 

“I think I can deal, Howie.” She smiled at him over her shoulder.   
.  
.  
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It was a yacht. A big one. Ginormous. There was definitely a pool on it. And Darcy wasn’t certain but that could have been a helicopter pad. Oh, look. It was fully staffed too, considering she could see people scurrying around on the deck of the ship. How extravagant. 

It was a far cry from living on Jane’s couch for two months in Virginia, trying to straighten out her credits with Culver University. 

“Do you own this…” she waved her hand out the car window towards the yacht. She couldn’t quite think of a word that would point out how fucking swanky it looked. 

“Well, yes. I almost never use it though.” He paused and then continued in a mockingly sweet voice. “Well I guess I mean, it’s ours now babe.” 

“Oh, please. You’ll make me sick talking like that.” 

Howard chuckled at that and focused back on driving Spain’s small winding roads. 

It was a strange feeling catching glimpses of the yacht between gaps in the Spanish style homes and business that lined the road. If this was a dream, as pleasant and surreal parts were, Darcy really wanted to wake at any time now. ASAP if possible.   
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The crew had quickly and politely introduced themselves to Darcy and then disappeared with the couple’s luggage just as quickly and politely. Darcy just stood there on the deck of the ship named STARK (took a lot of imagination to name it she guessed) wondering what to do with herself now that her bags were no longer something she could hide behind. 

Her already tensed shoulders tightened when Howard came up behind and lightly rested his hands on them. He leaned in to kiss her neck before giving her a bit of space as soon as he felt how tense she was. 

“Want a tour? Or a drink?”

“Is both an option?” she meant to say it as a joke but it came out sounding more like a demand. 

“That is always an option. C’mere, we got a bar just inside.” Howard grabbed her hand to guide her along inside. 

The inside of the cabin was, much to Darcy’s relief, not decorated in any sort of typical cliché 1960’s style. She was rather glad to avoid any 60’s psychedelic flowers and peace signs, it had never been quite her style. But then considering who she was actually married too, the idea of Howard being a fan of the 1960’s more lawless hippie movement seemed highly unlikely. Instead everything was done in a classy understated blue and white layout that was rather soothing and simple. 

“Here.” Howard had made something fruity and icy and was now pressing it into her hand. 

“Thanks.” She lifted the glass and took a small sip to avoid brain freeze in the process.

“Cheers.” Howard started as he clinked his own glass of scotch to the rim of her cocktail glass.

“Cheers.” She took a longer, bigger sip this time before asking, “So what’s a girl gotta do around here to get a tour?” 

“I have a few ideas, but I’ll wait until we end up touring the bedroom to share my thoughts.” 

Ah, well. She walked right into that one.


	22. Chapter 22

Despite his comment the first room outside of the lavish bar area he led her to was not the bedroom like she had figured he might lead her. 

Instead he slung his arm around her waist and turned her back towards the door they had original come in through leading her back out onto the deck for the outside tour.   
Howard started with a long winded and technical explanation of the engine system in the yacht that kept him happily talking for a good forty five minutes. He also didn’t seem to need much input from Darcy. He seemed content with the occasional head nod or ‘Huh’ ‘Really’ and ‘Fascinating’ that she would through in occasionally. 

It turns out she had been right on the drive in to the port. There was a helicopter pad on the yacht. It made her question if the point of the ship had originally been simply for relaxing vacations with the occasional actress or singer or if the ship yacht had a more military focus to it. Knowing Howard, he probably made it work both ways in his favor. 

“which optimizes the speed over longer distances.” Well it appeared he had exhausted that topic-at least for the time being. 

“Fantastic.” She might have said that a little to energetically because Howard turned to her with one eyebrow cocked and shit-eating grin on his face.

“Did you understand any of that?”

“Well I know what words like engine, the, a, time, and I all mean.” She replied, voice going dry with sarcasm. 

“You could have just told me to stop.”

“you seemed to be enjoying yourself and I’m not really feeling small talk at the moment so…” She trailed off before continuing. “You don’t seem to get overly excited about most things, so it’s nice to see you talking about something you actually like.” 

That earned her an honest to God smile from her husband before it slipped back behind his normal façade. 

“I could lecture at length about the security system I have in here. It’s really fascinating and I have about 22 patents filed on some of the components.” 

Now Darcy was the one to raise an eyebrow questioningly. 

“Is this how you sweet talk all your former flings?” 

“To be honest, there wasn’t much talking involved with my former flings. My wallet did most of that for me. This is somewhat of a novel experience for me. Well except for the newly-wedded part- that’s just completely different. Well, it can’t be easy for you either.”

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.” Stated Darcy, as she considered the various discussions she and Howard had had in the last six months. 

“Considering how much you’ve been stressing over everything, I’d say that sounds about right. But, I think the point was that I actually enjoy talking to you, which is somewhat strange when it comes to my interactions with the fairer sex. Well people in general. I tend to either like you or I don’t. Not much middle ground.”

“Well, this has been the beginning of how I always dreamed of my Honeymoon going.”

“The pool has a bar beside it and the ship has a five star chef.” Howard was quick to move on to a lighter subject. 

Darcy latched onto the suggestion with relief. 

“Now, you’re talking more my speed.”  
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.  
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Darcy had been feeling much more relaxed after having a couple of Margaritas in her system. The chef (whose name she had managed to forget somewhere between the first and what may have been her fourth drink) had whipped up a fantastic sampler of seafood and rice that left her wanting to lick the plate if one of the crew members hadn’t been so quick to clean everything up. 

It was sunny and bright outside. The pool was refreshing despite being pumped full of salt water instead of the normal chlorine treated fresh water. Howard was lounging quietly beside her, flipping through what looked like a research journal and occasionally closing his eyes and napping. 

He had to be almost as exhausted as she had been feeling on the flight over. Considering the events of the last day and since she didn’t know if he had slept on the plane or not on the flight over here, it didn’t surprise her that neither one of them were all that keen on doing anything. 

She decided that she may as well get a nap in herself.   
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Her mouth felt fuzzy and pretty damn gross when she woke up with a slight shiver. It was no longer sunny and bright out. The sun was low in the horizon and would soon disappear for the evening leaving the air much cooler after the warm sun. Once she got her bearings she noticed that Howard was now sound asleep next to her on the lounge chair. 

Deciding to let her husband sleep, she got up, careful to not jostle her chair or make any noise. Chilled in only her bathing suit and flip flops she glanced around for any warmer clothing she could wear. Lucky for her, the ship was staffed and outfitted to the brim and it didn’t take her long to find a pair of slacks and a light windbreaker shoved on a shelf under the bar area. She had no idea, where her clothes were, but she figured she technically owned 99% of the things on the ship so she didn’t stress about it. 

Time to explore a bit on her own. She tossed one more quick glance behind her to make sure Howard was still fast asleep and that none of the crew had come back. Not seeing anyone she took off to go explore.   
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Darcy had found a small ladder that clearly had stated “Employee’s only” on it. So naturally she had ducked under the chain and climbed up it. It led up to a small outlook that probably had some sort of important navigational function to it, but all she cared about was the view of the coast and being able to see the stars.   
.  
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She must have dozed off again because she failed to hear Howard’s approach on her new star-gazing spot. 

“I figured you might want this.” Howard said as he dropped something on the deck floor next to her, before taking a seat on her other side.

She jumped at the sound of his voice and the sudden unexpected movement. She looked over and saw a radio, similar to the one she lugged around S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters for all that time. 

“Oh. Thanks.” She said quietly fighting back a sudden impulse to burst into tears at the simple gesture. 

“I know how much you like your music.” 

“Yeah.”

She glanced over at Howard who wasn’t looking at her but was sitting stiffly focusing on some distant view. 

“Hey.” She said quietly, trying not to ruin the atmosphere by adding to much noise. She scooted a little bit closer to him and put her hand on his leg. “Thanks. I mean it.”

“Anytime, Darcy.” He turned to face her and moved in to close the distance between them. Within seconds Darcy had to reach up to brace herself against his chest as his lips pressed down insistently on hers. One of his hands found the edge of her ‘borrowed’ windbreaker and teased the gap between her bare stomach and the jacket. His other hand was firmly tangled in her hair as they kissed.

When Darcy leaned back slightly to get some air, Howard’s attention moved to the curve of her neck. His teeth and tongue took turns teasing and soothing the sensitive skin there. She leaned in closer and tried to relax against him. After awhile Howard shifted his attention to the curve of her ear. He nipped lightly at the area where she would sometimes wear earrings on the rare occasion she could find a matching pair. Unused to the feeling she jerked back slightly and blushed as he followed and huffed a laugh against her skin. 

“I think it’s about time we retire for the evening. I never did give you a tour of the bedroom earlier.” Howard said, the hand at her waist now firmly pressed against the gap between her bathing suit top and the slacks she had slipped on. She could feel the calluses that had built up from years of working with machinery and other sciencey things. His mouth moved back to her neck a little bit more forcibly this time as he waited for Darcy to manage an answer. 

She barely recognized her own voice when she managed a breathy ‘ok’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to apologize for making all of you suffer through my first few attempts at writing anything slightly resembling romance/sex/feelings.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's where the rating jumps up a bit. It only took 22 chapters. Also, this chapter can be skipped if you want a more PG rated story.

Her first thought as Howard opened the door and ushered her in was that the master bedroom could have easily fit her entire apartment in it with room to spare. There was a good chance the bed alone was larger than her first dorm room. All their bags had been brought in and placed on the floor next to one side of the bed. Howard closed the door behind him and walked past her to take a seat on the edge of the bed close to the luggage. 

Any of the slight comfort and ease that she had felt up out on the deck looking at the stars seemed to have fled. 

“So, I’m going to, um, take a shower now.” She muttered as she grabbed the small carry on size bag and walked past Howard to the bathroom. Howard glanced up at her but didn’t get a chance to respond as she bee lined it for the bathroom. 

Naturally, the bathroom looked like it belonged in a freakin’ five star hotel, the only thing missing had to be a Jacuzzi. There was a pretty good chance, she realized, that it probably hadn’t been invented yet. Damn shame really. 

However, there was a large bathtub, and she had a sneaking suspicion that the water from the taps would get just about as hot as she could want it.  
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Feeling a lot cleaner and relaxed now that she had washed off the last twenty four hours of travel and salt water from the pool. After towel drying her hair and changing into a simple t-shirt and a thin pair of cotton pants Darcy finally slipped quietly out of the bathroom. 

Howard, it seemed, had taken her unspoken advice and found a different bathroom to shower off in and change during the hour or so she had taken in the bathroom. Darcy found him sprawled out on chair with his feet propped up on a small coffee table reading through a stack of papers. Something to do with work she assumed. It never really ended. The man lived and breathed work as far as she could tell. 

“I’m glad to see you didn’t drown in there.” He said lightly as he looked up at her.

“Ha ha,” she muttered as she rolled her eyes and walked to the end of the large bed “very funny.”

She perched on the end of the bed and glanced over at the paperwork. “S.H.I.E.L.D. or Stark Industries?” 

“Both, it never ends.” But despite his mild complaint he stacked up the sheets of paper and put them back into the briefcase that was open on the floor. Standing up he made his way over to Darcy and stopped just as he was barely brushing against her legs that were hanging off the end of the bed. 

Before Darcy had a chance to say anything Howard bent down and kissed her just as insistently as he had outside. The angle was much more difficult for Howard than it had been outside and he was the first to break away this time. She looked him up and down. He was dressed very similar to herself, t-shirt and slacks, barefoot. 

However, as he put his hand up to cup the side of her face lightly she was struck once again at how rough his hands felt even on light gestures. In the past the few business associates they had run into over dinner or different social events, Darcy had never realized just how differently Howard’s hands felt compared to theirs. They had all been soft from disuse and hours spend behind desks. Same with the guys she had dated in college-though to be fair there- some of those guys owned more beauty products than she had. Howard, despite many things, was not afraid of some physical hard work. 

“You want to lie down and try and get comfortable?” His question shook her out of her thoughts and brought her rushing back to the current situation. 

She couldn’t think of a response that didn’t sound ridiculous to her own ears, but she nodded and moved backwards on the bed, feeling very self-conscious as Howard’s eyes followed her every movement. 

There was a glorious amount of pillows that she could prop herself up on closer to the head board which she took full advantage of. Now that she was firmly on the bed Howard knelt on the end where she had been sitting and he started to move forward towards her. She could feel the bed dip with the weight of his movements. 

The next thing she knew Howard’s lips were back on hers and he had propped himself up next to her with one arm holding his weight. The other had gone back to the strip of bare skin between her pants and her shirt. Not really knowing what to do with her hands, with everything feeling a little strange for her, she looped them around Howard’s neck and let him keep leading. 

After a few minutes Howard moved his mouth from her lips to the curve of her neck. He seemed a little fixated with that spot but, Darcy couldn’t complain based on how she relaxed ever so slightly at the changed. She was probably going to need some concealer come morning after it was all said and done though with the way he was grazing his teeth over her skin. 

She was a little surprised to feel his hand that had been on her waist now settle on one of her breasts on top of the shirt she was wearing. His mouth was still against the crook of her neck when she heard herself moan quietly. That certainly caught his attention and he pulled back after one last kiss to her neck. The sudden lack of attention startled her and she ended up reaching up unconsciously for him to pull him back down. Howard smirked a little but moved back to her lips again before finally breaking away again.  
He shifted up to his knees giving Darcy a bit of room and a chance to focus a little. Both his hands moved to the bottom of her shirt and started to lift it off of her. 

“Um,” she reached out one hand to settle on top of one of his. 

“This will be much easier if we get rid of some of these clothes.” Howard said when she didn’t continue talking. He smiled down at her, but waited for her response before doing anything else. 

“Right, ok.” 

He kissed her again and when she moved her hand away, went back to pulling her shirt off. She instinctually moved to cover her chest as the cooler air hit her breasts. Howard had seemed to expect that since he moved to stop her. 

“Easy there, darling. Are you alright?” He asked eyes flickering up to meet hers before moving back down to her chest. 

“Yes, fine.” Her voice didn’t even sound like herself to her ears. It was higher than normal and a little breathless. “Nervous.” 

“Just tell me to stop if there is something you don’t like.” He said as he held her hands loosely away from covering her chest so he could stare unabashedly at her. 

“Ok.” 

“And if there is something you do like,” he began as he released her hands and moved one hand up to cup a breast instead, feeling its heavy weight in his hand, “you could always beg. I’d be willing to say that it would work in your favor.”

He moved to suck her nipple into his mouth. Darcy arched her back at the new sensation and pushed up against him. His free hand moved to push her back down on the bed and into the pillows so he could move on top of her easier. She moaned as her husband settled some of his weight on top of her. It was a new feeling to have him on top of her like that. 

Howard took a few minutes to focus attention on both of Darcy’s breasts, kneading, mouthing, and rubbing at them until Darcy was left whimpering and grasping at his hair and shirt. Leaving her somewhat frustrated and confused when he backed away again. 

“What are-“ she tried to form a question as he pushed up off her. 

“We still have quite a lot of clothing still in the way.” He tugged lightly on her cotton pants that Darcy had forgotten she was still wearing. “These are going to have to go. “ He leaned down to whisper in her ear “and I could use a little help with mine if you don’t mind.”

When Darcy just stared up at him, her chest slightly shiny in spots from where he had his mouth on her, eyes wide, he sighed “Lift up a bit would you. Thanks.” 

Surprisingly that seemed to shake her out of it a bit and she laughed a bit as Howard pulled off her pants and the lace she was wearing underneath. 

“Something funny?” He asked, smiling to see Darcy a bit more like her normal self. 

“Are you always going to be this much of a jerk in bed?”

“Worse, I’m afraid. I’m trying to be nice.” He said that last word like it left a bad taste in his mouth. 

He had a feeling Darcy wasn’t really surprised by that answer. 

“Oh.” She settled back on the bed, letting Howard hold her hands down again so she wouldn’t cover herself again.  
.  
.  
.  
Somehow Howard had ended up undressed, but Darcy was a little hazy on how that had happened. All she could really focus on at this point was the sound of her husband’s heavy breathing and occasional moan in her ear as he thrust up deep into her. Occasionally he’d swear or mutter her name into her neck and hair, but mostly it was the sound of him breathing and moaning as he moved. It didn’t hurt necessarily now, it had at first though, but it was such a strange feeling to have him inside her, on top of her, and his weight moving her with each thrust. 

She had her hands wrapped around his neck mostly because she didn’t know what else to do with them. Howard didn’t seem to mind her current inexperience, based on his actions, so she just let him move as he wished. 

She wasn’t sure how long it had been when Howard starts to speed up and push in to her a little bit harder. Her hands tighten at the nape of his neck. His mouth closes over hers as he finishes and slowly relaxes against her. He kisses her firmly before slipping out of her and rolling onto his back next to her, still breathing heavily. 

Darcy, unsure of what to do, stays still, a bit achy and sore, and shocked by the cool air that was suddenly covering her body, before Howard reaches out to pull her into his arms and to settle against his chest.

“Are you alright?” he asks quietly once she’s settled in close to him. 

She doesn’t speak but nods her head against his chest. 

“Do you need anything?” he asks another question as he runs his hand up and down her arm lightly. 

“Glass of water” she manages to say. Now that she thinks about it her mouth feel dry and uncomfortable. When Howard moves out from under the covers and off of the bed she bundles the covers around her and sits up slightly to wait for Howard to come back. 

She can hear a tap running and some rustling in a bag before Howard comes back. She’s relived to see he’s now wearing another pair of soft cotton pants like he had been earlier in the evening, he has her glass of water and a robe for her slung over his arm. She takes the glass of water and the robe thankfully as her husband climbs back into bed next to her. 

Once again he moves to pull her into his arms for the night.


	24. Chapter 24

Darcy had always been good with awkward and uncomfortable situations. You don’t pull off an internship with an astrophysicist that is both way scientifically smarter and way more socially awkward than yourself without mastering strange situations. She wasn’t even counting the Norse gods at this point. 

The morning after her wedding night had to the be the single most awkward moments of her life thus far putting secret government groups, strange intergalactic relationships, and time travel aside. And she had thought that trying to figure out what to do and where to put her hands and what to say to Howard just hours before had been bad. This might just be much much worse in her new rapidly changing opinion. Plus she really needed a shower. 

She was still pressed up to Howard’s side from where they had fallen asleep together earlier. Howard was still asleep and Darcy didn’t really know what to do from this point on. She took a minute to stare at him, less romantic than most people would think looking at a sleeping spouse that you care for, probably more on the creepy scale now that she really thought about it. She probably, wasn’t much cut out for that romance stuff. Was she supposed to wake him? Get out of bed and just take a shower and disappear off into the gazillions of cabins this boat had? Find breakfast? 

Shower definitely won out after she took a few moments to gaze at a sleeping Howard. Without the charm, or suits, or machinery surrounding him he seemed smaller in a way. It was crazy to think how important he was in the course of modern history.   
.  
.  
.  
Howard was awake, if by awake, one meant sleep ruffled and a little blurry eyed when she got out of the shower and walked back into the bedroom. 

“Uh, hey.”

Howard looked up at the sound of her voice.

“You all right?” asked Howard rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture that threw her for a loop. Howard never looked nervous. At least they were both not quite comfortable with their situation. “I didn’t, uh, hurt you or anything last night?” he asked almost stumbling over the question. 

“I’m ok.” That statement didn’t seem to fill Howard with any confidence that she was, indeed, ok. 

Howard got up and moved to stand in front of her. He reached out almost hesitantly to pull her into his arms. Darcy burrowed her face into the crook of his shoulder and sighed deeply. Howard propped his chin on the top of her head and just held her for a moment or two. 

“It’ll get better I swear.” He muttered into her hair, trying to reassure his new wife that sex wasn’t going to be a chore for her throughout their marriage. 

Darcy huffed a small laugh into his neck before pulling back slightly to look up at her husband, blushing as she did so. Considering just how stressed, nervous, and uptight she had felt the night before she was surprised it had gone as well as it did. But that wasn’t to say…

“So you gonna make it up to me then?”

“Well I do have a reputation to protect, Darce.”

“Oh, I see how it is.” She rolled her eyes but because she was still pressed in close to Howard he missed the full effect of them.  
.  
.  
.  
Darcy pulled up the sheet to cover herself and turned to look at Howard who was smirking over at her. 

“Better?” he asked sounding smug.

“Shut up Howie.” She muttered as she blushed, panted a bit breathlessly, and pulled the sheet around her more securely. 

His smirk faltered ever so slightly, going from the genuine one that Darcy and Peggy got to see on occasion to the slightly showy one that he used at board meetings. “It was better, right?” he asked as he reached out for her. He ended up with a handful of silk sheets instead of his blushing wife. 

Darcy snorted at Howard’s attempt and scooted in closer to him, still bringing the sheet with her, much to Howard’s disappointment. 

“It was better.” She said as she leaned down to kiss Howard, before relaxing down in the bed next to him. 

“Right…we’ll work on this.”

Darcy wanted to roll her eyes for what felt like the millionth time since she got married but “For once I don’t have a problem with you trying to fix everything you get your hands on Howie.”

“I’ll have you running as hot as one of my cars.”

“Ah, every girl’s dream, to be compared to, as of yet, a not completely air safe flying car that still occasionally crashes and burns.”

“If you give me a second I’m sure I can think of some way to compare you to one of my ammunitions factories? If you prefer? There has got to be a whole hell of a lot of sexual innuendo when it comes to bombs and explosions.” 

Darcy groaned in mock exasperation. 

“Just shut up, Howie and let’s get some sleep.” She said as she tried to free a pillow to smack him with. Unfortunately he intercepted her move and claimed the pillow first since 

she was still trying to keep her sheet firmly wrapped around her chest and it hampered her movements and speed. 

“You know you’re not hiding anything I wasn’t just, uh fondling, sucking-“

“Howard!”

“Just minutes ago, darling. You were there if I remember it correctly. I’m pretty sure at one point you were the one moaning my name…at least I hope it was you. Saying my own   
name during sex would just be weird.”

That at least earned Howard a small laugh. 

.  
.  
.  
Peggy was half hidden behind a stack of official looking papers, that he was not looking forward being handed to fill out, when he let himself into her office. He assumed Peggy would be handing him a rather thick stack to go over before he made his escape later.

“Welcome back. You survived your first week as a married man. How does it feel, Howard? You thinking about ditching the ol’ ball and chain yet?” The first two sentences had sounded friendly enough, the last question had him on instinct looking for cover in case Peggy decided to start shooting at him. 

“Ha ha ha, Pegs, it’s been one week, no I’m not looking to ditch my wife. Yes, I’m back. Yes, my honeymoon was lovely, thanks for asking, pal.” He snapped back slightly annoyed at his friend and co-worker. 

“Easy there Stark. Gotta make sure my gal Maria’s in good hands.” She waited a moment and then smiled at him with a wicked glint in her eyes. “So how was the honeymoon?”

“I’m sure you’ll end up getting my wife to talk all about it later.” He sighed

“It went that smoothly then?” she asked no longer sounding like she wanted to shoot him, more like she possibly wanted to give him a hug instead. Howard almost whished she’d go back to threatening bodily harm. He knew how to handle that emotion. 

“It wasn’t bad…look can you just fill me in on what I missed? World security at stake here.”

“Sure, pal.” Said Peggy as she mockingly reached out and patted him on cheek, much to his disgust and her amusement. “Oh, and I’ll of course be taking your lovely new bride out for drinks later this week to hear her side of things.”

“Can we please get back to work.”


	25. Chapter 25

Considering that in the past, she was usually drunk or pissed off when at Howard’s New York City mansion, it was very strange to drive through the gate: A) on her own without Howard or Jarvis driving, and B) as the new ‘lady of the house’ for the first time.

Jarvis was waiting outside for her when she parked the car. He had her door open before she got a chance to do it herself. 

The last twelve hours had been a rush from the airport right to S.H.I.E.L.D where Howard had promptly disappeared off to Peggy’s office and Darcy had made to her way to her standard paperwork when she wasn’t out schmoozing with the rich and famous on Howard’s arm. She had never really been close to any of the other agents on the same level as her. Being continually pulled places by the head honchos didn’t really help that, but things were even worse now that everyone knew she was married to Howard. But in the end it just meant she could get her work done in peace-even if it was a little boring having no one to chat with. 

So when she was welcomed by Jarvis’s polite yet warm ‘Mrs. Stark’ and a small smile, she was inordinately relieved to see him. The sudden hug she gave him as soon as she exited the car probably threw Jarvis off his perfect British persona but made her feel a little relieved to be home. 

“All your luggage and bags have been brought up to your room from the airport. I also took the liberty of emptying your apartment while you were on your honeymoon. You can set things up at your leisure now that you are home.” Jarvis said over the top of Darcy’s head as he stiffly patted her on the back after she flung her arms around him. 

“Thanks, Jarvis.”

“I am happy to make your move as smooth as possible.” He said once Darcy released him and took a step back, her eyes suspiciously bright and shiny in the dim courtyard lights. 

She took a moment to turn away and run her sleeve under her eye as discreetly as possible. Jarvis was kind enough to inspect the perfect paint job on the car idly for a moment or two as she got herself back under control.   
Once she wasn’t about to burst into tears the next time she was expected to open her mouth she turned back to Jarvis. 

“Has Howard called? I know he had to stay late to finish some stuff at work…” she trailed off and avoided Jarvis’s now concerned gaze. 

“Sir did call, the kitchen, study, office, and master bed all have telephones in them and I will get sir’s number for you if you wish to call him.” Jarvis said as he ushered Darcy into the mansion and towards the kitchen. He pulled out some left overs from the dinner his wife had prepared earlier and plated them for Darcy as she flopped down in one of the kitchen chairs, exhausted from the long day at work and travel. He poured her a glass of water and brought both over to her slumped form. 

“Thanks.” She took a few bites before she remembered how late it was. 

“If you don’t mind writing down Howard’s number for me, I’m just going to finish up here and go to bed. I don’t want to keep you up any later than I already have. I don’t want to piss off your wife by keeping you away from her before I even get a chance to know her.” She said in between bites of her food. 

Jarvis pulled out a slim pad of paper from one of the kitchen drawers wrote down a few phone numbers and then handed her the sheet of paper. 

“Goodnight, Mrs. Stark. Don’t hesitate to call for me or Anna if you need anything. I’ll see you in the morning.” 

“Night, Jarvis.” 

He gave her a small smile before leaving.  
.  
.  
.

The mansion was creepy at night. She had never lived anywhere with so much *room* before. Every movement she made was loud and echoed throughout the foyer as she made her way to the stairs. As she made her way up stairs past the room she had used as needed on past stays in the mansion she realized she’d never actual gotten a tour of the entire building. She’d really only ever seen the kitchen, hidden lab in the basement, a study, and two bedrooms. 

She’d seen the master bed room in broad daylight, sunlight streaming through the windows and Howard making salacious comments as he gave her a tour before their wedding. Now at night and alone, like the rest of the house she wasn’t finding it very welcoming. The drapes cast moving shadows across the walls and the dark wood of the furniture made everything look a little foreboding. 

She dropped her purse and the paper with the phone numbers on it on the nearest flat surface. Both soon to be forgotten in Darcy’s quest for the rest of her stuff. Darcy started pulling out drawers looking for where Edwin or Anna had unpacked her meagre belongings in the room. She finally found a pair of cotton pants she had turned into her pajamas and a shirt that probably belonged to Howard, but based on how soft it felt as she pulled it on, he was never going to get it back. 

Now that she was finally a little more comfortable in her clothes she turned back towards the larger-than-king-sized-whatever-size-that was bed. 

For the first time tonight she was glad there was no one around. She took a running start as best she could and jumped up on the bed. Gleefully and a little hysterically she jumped up and down on the bed like she had wanted to for the first time she had seen it. Damn fine bed, good bounce. 9.5 out of 10 compared to all over beds she had spent time in or bouncing on. As a card carrying adult that made Very Serious Life Decisions (thank you very much) she approved.

Within minutes however, Darcy had to admit she was exhausted and she was soon sound asleep sprawled across the bed, blankets and sheets a mess. 

.  
.  
.

The sky was definitely edging into more light than dark when Howard tiredly pulled back the covers and slid into bed next to Darcy. She didn’t even twitch when he leaned over to kiss her on her shoulder and settled down next to her.


	26. Chapter 26

It took exactly 83 hours 22 minutes and 30 seconds (give or take) for Darcy to get her head out of her ass after Howard left for a business trip within a week of them getting back to New York from their Honeymoon. Those hours had been spent listlessly wandering her spotless house and working out without any enthusiasm. It wasn’t until she had spent an entire morning doing nothing but lie on top of her already made bed and burrowed her head into the pillows as the radio rattled off songs and news reports. 

Somewhere in the midst of listening to a weather report, a mugging downtown, and an advertisement for a new model of vacuum the droning radio announcer turned to one of Darcy’s long standing favorite topics: Music. 

It was the 1960’s. She was living in fucking New York City in the fucking 1960’s and she hadn’t even attempted to get into the music scene. Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Hollies, The Temptations, her list could go on and on. She could see these people live! And here she was, rich as fuck and moping around her house all alone. 

Not acceptable. 

.  
.  
.

Howard came home one evening a week later to an empty house. Anna and Edward were out running errands or enjoying some time off on a Friday evening for themselves. Maria was nowhere to be seen. 

Howard called S.H.E.I.L.D. and like most times Peggy picked up the phone.

“Hey, pal.”

“Welcome back.” Came Peggy’s dry reply. “Are you still filthy rich?”

“Even filthier than before.” Was Howard’s equally dry reply.

“Good for you. Now why are you calling here right before I was about to escape for the evening?” Howard could hear paper shuffling in the background. Peggy was probably packing her bags as they were speaking. 

“I was hoping my wife was still there.” 

“Left about two hours ago. She took one of your cars here instead of being dropped off by Jarvis. Why? Do you think something is wrong?”

Peggy’s question made Howard pause for a moment. Considering Howard’s first reaction was to think the worst, he in reality probably had nothing to worry about. She had probably just gone out to dinner or gone for a drive. 

“No, I’m just…”

“She wasn’t at home when you came back from your trip?” Peggy read his unspoken statement as clear as day. 

“Right.” He fiddled with the cord on the phone and glanced around the spotless and empty kitchen. He had been looking forward to seeing Darcy after the last week. 

“Howard.”

“Hhhmm?”

“Did you tell your wife when to expect your return home?” 

Ah, that admittedly was something that Howard hadn’t actually thought of doing. 

“Ah, no.” 

Peggy was laughing at him on the other end of the line. “If she’s not home by tomorrow morning, that’s when I’d start being concerned about her safety. She’s young. We certainly didn’t sit home in our empty houses when we were her age, Stark. And I’m positive your bed hasn’t really been empty since you made your first 100,000.” 

“When we were her age we were fighting a war. We still are. Just a less honorable one.” He stated flatly. 

But Peggy wasn’t having any of his attitude, she was one of his oldest friends and colleagues and could easily call him out on his bullshit. “And even with the war we still managed to have fun. Remember London?”

He just grunted in reply.

“Maybe next time, give your wife warning when you’ll be home and she’ll make the effort to be there to welcome you home. Now, you can call me if she doesn’t come home by morning, but I’m finally leaving. Night, Howard.” 

.  
.  
.

There was no need for Howard to call Peggy the next morning because sometime between 11 and 12 that evening Darcy came stomping into the house dressed in a bright floral dress-thing (Howard wasn’t sure what the technical terms were for the rounded collars and rather short hemline) heeled boots that didn’t quite match and strong odor of smoke and booze. She pulled open the door of his study when she saw the light on under the door. 

“Howie!” it wasn’t quite a squeal but it was certainly a new tone of voice when it came to Darcy’s usual dry sarcastic tones. 

She moved into the room and dropped her bag and some shawl thing on the floor by the study door and moved into the room. 

Howard looked up at his wife from the large leather seat he was trying to claim he wasn’t brooding in (the glass of scotch didn’t help his argument). 

“Darcy, where have you been?”

Darcy didn’t answer immediately, instead she moved forward and sat herself right in Howard’s lap. Before he had a chance to say anything she wrapped one arm around his neck and moved in to kiss him soundly. She ground into his lap a little and any of his concerns and complaints flew out the window for a moment as his hands went to steady her on her bare legs. 

She tasted like beer and one of his cigarettes and he pulled her in closer. 

When she moved from his mouth to rake her teeth over the lobe of his ear he managed- a little breathlessly- to repeat his question. 

“Where were you?”

Darcy pulled back and moved to smooth down her skirt, which Howard had managed to slide both his hands up while they had been kissing. 

“Concert. Got to see The Loving Spoonful’s live. How fucking sweet is that?” wrapped her arms back around his neck again and leaned back with a joyful laugh. “I’ve decided I’m going to every fucking concert that comes through this city. Suck that time travel- I’m going to meet the Beatles in person. Then I might get to work on some social issues. But, totally not joking about you footing the bill for concerts….ohh” she seemed to daze off for a second before smiling even brighter. “I’m going to Woodstock! Nothing’s going to stop me.” 

Howard’s bad mood was slowly disappearing in the face of Darcy being the most amorous he’d ever seen her. He just wished he understood half of what she was talking about. 

“Welcome home by the way.” She said as she dropped one of her hands from his neck to his lap to fumble with the clasp to his belt. “Did you have a lucrative trip?”

It didn’t seem like Darcy cared about the answer, which was good since Howard was a little bit more focused on helping her unbuckle his belt as quick as possible.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild update appears. The fanfic author uses publish. It’s somewhat effective. (I swear I haven’t abandoned this fic).

It became something of a pattern between them. When Howard was home in New York, Mr. and Mrs. Stark could be seen out dinning together, attending parties, and weekending out in the Hamptons. Maria was always dressed slightly on the revealing side, Howard could be counted on making a lewd comment on her legs or chest after a few drinks, and then they’d escape the latest function buzzed or drunk and bored stiff. Back home they’d tumble drunkenly into bed and fuck each other senseless in various rooms of their mansion. Or that time or two in the car. Jarvis had literally pulled over to the side of the road and left them to fend for themselves. Anyway, It seemed to work for the two of them and Darcy was not…unhappy…with her life.

When Howard Stark left for weeks at a time Maria Stark seemed to disappear from any socialite circles and couldn’t really be found. She’d get invites and phone calls to join several different ladies groups all of which seemed to land in the trashcan without being opened. 

The papers just ate it all up of course. Month after month, year after year, the Starks made the rumor mill run. 

Howard was still at the top of his game so no one on the board of directors ever gave him shit about his personal life. He would have ignored it anyway. 

It was a good thing that the Starks were rich enough to really do whatever they fucking felt like doing. Because it seemed like the only thing that could actual get Darcy remotely excited about life was concerts and New York’s music scene. Howard certainly didn’t seem to mind shelling the money out for her to go to concert after concert. And Darcy found that she was slowly learning how to enjoy other aspects of the past. 

She had been a political science major and she was living in one time period where major changes were happening. And she had the power and influence to play a role. She damn well keep up with the news. 

 

.  
.  
.

That all seemed to change one quiet afternoon almost five years after she got married. The mansion was empty. Howard was on yet another business trip, or chasing frozen supersoldiers, or (she doubted it since he always invited her along on his trips) out fucking some young model or starlet. Jarvis and Anna were out being adorable and still in love after all their years together. 

She was supposed to be going to an art exhibit that had caught her eye the other day at The Cloisters. Instead she was spending the day on her knees throwing up violently into the trashcan next to one of Howard’s worktables in the private lab.   
Darcy figured at this point there were two options. Option a) Jarvis had let some food go bad and accidently served it to her this morning (an option she couldn’t even imagine from the meticulous butler) or option b) she was finally pregnant despite doing her best to not be. Apparently the pill and condoms couldn’t help her avoid the future forever. 

Howard was going to be thrilled when he got home. The few times he had gotten her to talk about Tony Stark- along with hearing about some of his brilliant inventions- he had always seemed incredibly impressed and pleased. 

Damn it, she was going to have to go cold turkey on the cigarettes and booze for a long time. Well at least for nine months. 

Once her stomach settled long enough for her to get up off the floor she forced herself to work her way up and over to the phone mounted on the wall. She dialed the number for the Stark Industries, California office and waited impatiently for someone to pick up. 

The secretary rattled off the typical company spiel but Darcy interrupted her before she could finish, “This is Maria Stark, you are to find my husband immediately and have him call me back as soon as possible. Do not let me find out you failed to deliver this message.” She hung up on the surprised secretary before the woman could get a word out. 

She slid down the wall and curled up into a ball forcing herself to breathe in and out. After what felt like an eternity but might have only been something like five minutes the phone rang, echoing loudly in the empty lab. 

Darcy was on her feet instantly, that did no favors for her stomach, but she had the phone off the hook and that was all that mattered to her right now. 

“Maria, darlin’ everything alright?” came Howard’s thick New York accent bleeding through the tone he used for business. 

She started crying thickly before she could answer him properly. 

“Maria?” he repeated sharply.

“Howie can you come home?” she sobbed. She just didn’t want to be alone right now. 

“I’ll be there by tomorrow evening, I swear.” He said, already sliding the phone away from his mouth to bellow orders at some of his employees to get his plane fueled and ready for the flight home. 

Darcy nodded even though Howard was thousands of miles away and couldn’t see the movement. 

“Darlin’?”

“Yeah,” she said finally forcing herself to stop crying. “I’m ok. I am. I just need you to come home.”

“Once I hang up, I’ll be on my way. Darce, it’s going to be fine. Whatever it is we can handle it. I’ll be home soon.” Everyone must have scurried off to obey Howard’s demands moments before since he was now using her real name. “Can I hang up or do ya want me to stay on longer?” 

She wasn’t crying anymore and she gave a shaky laugh into the phone. “I’m good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Darce?” 

“Uh huh?”

“I love you and I’ll be home soon.” She must have freaked him out a bit, Howard rarely admitted out loud he had feelings of any sort. 

“Fly fast, Stark. Love you too.”

She hung up the phone before he had a chance to say anything else.


	28. Chapter 28

Jarvis was waiting for him at the airport when Howard landed. He gave Howard a miniscule shrug at Howard’s questioning look and opened the car door for him. He didn't have any answers for him about Darcy. All she had said to Jarvis when he and Anna had gotten home was that Howard would be returning early and that he would have to go pick him up at the airport.

It was a long silent drive with Howard growing more and more tense by the moment.

When they finally pulled into the mansion Howard was out of the car before Jarvis had even taken the keys out of the ignition of the town car.

Darcy wasn’t waiting for him by the front door or the kitchen. His next guess was spot on though. His lab. Had it been nighttime he would have said the roof access he had built for her. But he never saw her out there during the day.

She was slumped over one of his work tables. She had cleared off anything he might have left behind and commandeered it for whatever she was working on. From his vantage point at the door it was just a bunch of papers she had assembled and was scribbling rapidly on. 

Howard knocked lightly on the door frame to gain his wife's attention. 

Darcy looked up with a frown at the noise. She gave him a weak smile when she realized who it was.

“Darcy?”

“I'm really glad you're home. I don't want to face this alone.” she said in response to his concerned look.

“I'm going to need to know what's wrong to be of any help darlin’.”

Darcy swiveled the chair around to face him. She looked exhausted and stressed. 

“I think I'm pregnant.” 

The words rang through the empty lab and echoed strangely in his ear. 

She had started talking again but he wasn’t focused on the words going on about doctor’s appointments and no smoking near her for the time being.

Pregnant. She was pregnant. They were going to have a child. A son. Anthony Edward Stark. Tony Stark. 

“I'm going to need you to say something now. Anything anything at all.” said Darcy staring up at him where he was frozen in place.

“You're pregnant.” he managed to say.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “That's what I just said.” she muttered in exasperation. “I'm going to need you to say something a little less obvious.”

“That's great.” he managed to say with actual excitement. His brain didn't seem to be processing at its normal advanced setting.

Was this how normal people felt all the time? Must be tedious to function that way.

“Sure. We've got 17 maybe 19 years left to live? I forgot exactly how old Stark was when his parents die. I'm growing a ticking time bomb in my body. Literally I think he goes on to blow up some buildings in L.A. or something.” 

“O.K. first of all.” Howard began as he moved forward and crouched in front of Darcy’s chair. “That's our son. Not a fucking bomb. I should know. I've built a lot of bombs over the years. This is our son.” 

He took Darcy’s hands in his and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“And another thing…” he began.

“oh not this shit again Howard. For the last ten I don't want to hear it.” she spat. “I know you think you can fix anything you get your hands on but how the hell do you think you are going to bend time to your will?”

“I'm not bending time to my will. I just have a feeling your friend Jane Foster is raising hell to get you back and we might have a chance to meet in the middle somehow. Especially if she's as smart and tenacious as you have described her.” He kept the part where he thought sending a message to his yet unborn son might also help matters. “My research shows-“

Darcy cut him off before he could continue. “I’ve asked you before to not do this with me. Can you stop trying to fix things for five fucking minutes?”

Howard leaned back on his heels and didn’t respond. 

“I’ve made a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow, I’d like if you would drive me there just to confirm I’m right. We can start planning things better after that, alright?” Darcy asked slumping back in her chair and effectively putting a little distance between herself and Howard. 

“My schedule is clear for the next few days because I didn’t know what was going on or what you might need.” Said Howard standing up, feeling old for one of the few times as his knees protested a bit. He moved to look over the table Darcy had been so busy working at. Scraps of papers were being pinned and noted in some sort of table. “What are you working on?”

“Basically everything I can possibly remember.” Stated Darcy as she also got up and moved to stand beside Howard. “I’m trying to chart things that I know will happen, things that I don’t quite remember, and so on. I’ve been writing down these notes since you first gave me my new identity.” 

Well that answered Howard’s unasked question on why some of the pages were looking a little old and ragged. 

“How is this different from me researching and working towards a way to get you back to your own time?” 

Darcy looked like she was ready to ream him out at his last comment but instead focused back on the table, made sure everything was in place and then turned to leave the lab without saying anything else to him.   
.  
.  
.  
Hours later when Howard decided to finally brave the master bedroom Darcy was already there in bed a Nancy Drew novel open in front of her and the radio crooning some song about a band of gold and love gone wrong. 

She looked up at him but didn’t say anything as he went about getting ready for bed. 

It had been a while since things were this tense between them. Howard didn’t like it but didn’t know what to say to ease the feeling in the room. 

By the time he got out of the shower, the radio was off and the book was sitting closed on the small nightstand next to Darcy’s side of the bed. Darcy was curled up under the covers in a ball. 

When Howard slid into bed much to his surprise Darcy snuggled up to his side and burrowed her head into the crook of his shoulder. She also didn’t protest when after a minute or two Howard slid his hand into her night shirt and over her breast. One of her hands made its way to the drawstrings on his pants and when he felt her cup him through the soft cotton he relaxed slightly. 

They’d get through this.


	29. Chapter 29

She remembered vague accounts of people claiming being pregnant was wonderful and fulfilling and a joyous, glowing nine months period. There definitely a string of Facebook photos and posts attesting to that fact from some girls from her old High School. Then the young happily married couples just out of college. Anyway, she’d like to shoot every single one of those people in the face with her Taser.

And delete their pregnancy tracking apps. That hadn’t been invented yet. 

Darcy’s pregnancy was none of those things. At least not yet, but it was still early. Darcy’s pregnancy was hell and it was only the first month or trimester or whatever the fucking she was supposed to call it. Morning sickness, wasn't so much morning sickness as many times a day sickness.

Howard, true to his word, had switched his schedule around enough that he'd be home for almost Darcy’s entire pregnancy. Depending on Darcy’s mood at any given moment that was a both a good and bad thing. She seemed to sink into dark moods more often than not and when she did Howard just got on her nerves.

She had the horrible feeling that she was severely depressed and the lack of booze and cigarettes to fall back on were not helping matters at all.

She was also having a horrible time trying to connect the small baby growing inside her to the distant celebrity figure of Tony Stark. It wasn't computing properly in her brain. She couldn't imagine the man that was simultaneously in tabloids for sex scandals and scientific journals for groundbreaking new inventions as a baby or a child. Especially one she was now going to have to raise and nurture. For that matter she couldn't imagine her husband ever being young and childlike. It made her head hurt just thinking about it.

Doctor's appointments were hell too. She had mostly avoided doctors for the last few years except right before her marriage where Howard had made sure she could get birth control. Darcy had to force herself not to laugh or cry through some of the doctor’s suggestions for her delivery options. Nothing sounded particularly safe to her ears. She was definitely going to have to research some of these options on her own. Get ahold of midwife or something and ask more detailed questions. She didn’t go through all of this just too accidently cause Anthony harm before he was even born. Howard was attending most appointments with her these days, but mostly sat back and let her handle the decisions.

On the other hand the idea of natural childbirth sounded horrifying.

Now she was just missing modern medicine. A lot.   
.  
.

Darcy was also missing S.H.I.E.L.D. Howard had put his foot down on the idea of her going into work while she was pregnant. Between the sensitive nature of the job, his personal concern over her and Tony's future, and the fact that he didn't want her in the line of fire should something happen at work it was clear it wasn't going to happen. With how sick she was feeling it made sense but she hated how much free time that left her to kill.

She went from being insanely busy between her job at SHIELD, her social commitments that she attended on whim, the occasional stop at Stark Industries, and the constant concerts and music festivals to sitting around the mansion feeling the future rush up on her all too quickly.

.  
.  
.

Howard was around a lot more, which she was glad about but it also meant she had to listen to his plans to search for Steve Rogers all the time. It was quickly becoming one of her least favorite topics. She understood the desire to search for an old friend. Had it been Jane or Howard or Peggy out there she wouldn’t stop looking either. But at the same time she knew and had told Howard that he wasn’t going to be found in their lifetime.

In an effort to stop annoying her search plans for Capitan America he had tried to bring up his research on her little time travel problem but like usual she shut down that line of thought quickly. Some days she was on the verge of telling him to get the fuck out and leave her alone. 

Plus it didn't help that Howard was also trying to overhaul the house to be baby friendly ish. A truly difficult task since it had been bachelor friendly since Howard first started designing the place close to 30 years ago now. Darcy was also pretty sure that Tony wasn't going good to need the four cribs they (make that Howard) already purchased and or built.

Had Howard not been incredibly poor growing up she had a feeling he'd be more reasonable about things. But he'd had to work so very hard (not all ways as honestly as he would have liked) for every cent he made over the years. And judged alongside men that had been born into money and power. She was starting get to see why- the little she could tell from old interviews that she vaguely remembered- why Howard might put so much pressure on his son to succeed at every endeavor. 

Didn't mean she liked it though.

.  
.  
.

“How was your day?” Asked an exhausted sounding Howard as he dropped next to her on the couch. It was about nine in the evening and he was just now making it home from the office. Jarvis had served dinner hours ago and was probably already off to bed. 

Darcy lowered the sound on the radio beside her and scooted her bare feet from the coffee table in front of the couch to Howard’s lap.

“Despite spending a few delightful hours puking probably more pleasant than dealing with the board of directors.”   
Howard grimaced before responding. 

“Charming as ever darling, you sure know how to turn a man on.” Howard laughed into his hand wearily. “True though.”

They sat in silence for a moment with only the soft sounds of the radio making any sound. Howard had his head back on the backrest and his eyes closed. 

“The board did introduce a new investor today.” Howard began talking again.

“Oh?” asked Darcy, ready for the very loud complaints that usually came after a statement like that. 

“Guy named Obadiah Stane. I think he might work out well for us. In the long run his involvement might allow me to take a small step back from Stark Industries to focus on SHIELD more.” 

“That's good. I'll have to meet him sometime.” Darcy said. “And I assume you mean an incredibly minuscule step since you are something of a control freak when it comes to your business decisions.” 

“I have a feeling he'll be around a lot so you definitely will.” He chose to ignore the control freak statement. 

 

Darcy smiled at Howard and moved to settle against his chest. She reached up and finished untying the loosened tie that was still slung around his neck. When she started kissing him on his neck just above his shirt collar he opened his eyes again and wrapped one of his arms around her. 

“Do you want a drink or anything?” she asked pulling back slightly.

“You gonna get all moody watching me drink?” he asked, his eyes closed again. His voice was a little raspy like he’d been talking nonstop all day. 

“Jarvis left some food for you too. I can heat that up for you and bring you a drink if you would like.”

“Sure darling. Thanks.” 

She detangled herself from his arm and made her way to the kitchen. While the food was heating up in the microwave (a device Jarvis wasn’t much of a fan of, but Darcy was so glad had been invented back in the 40’s) she scrounged up a bottle of scotch for Howard. 

When she finally made it back to the couch her husband was already dozing where she had left him just minutes before. But he must not have had a chance to eat much all day since the smell seemed to jerk him awake.

“Thanks.” He said reaching out for the plate and balancing it on the arm of the couch. He took the scotch and had a few large sips before even starting the food. 

“No problem. You, uh, coming to bed after this? Or do you have more work to do?” asked Darcy with a yawn. Howard put his drink down and tugged lightly on her hand until she was back on the couch next to him. 

“I’m exhausted, if I tried working right now I’d probably blow us all to bits. We'll head up in a few, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else watch the new Captain America movie and get their heart ripped to shreds in the process? I’ve seen it twice already.


	30. Chapter 30

“Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them.”   
― Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

 

All-nighters in college and working with Jane never prepared her for the pure exhaustion she felt during her pregnancy. 

Then it got worse as she actually started showing. Darcy was used to the challenges of D-cup boobs, she’d been dealing with them since the beginning of high school. She did not need them to get any bigger thank you very much. Unfortunately none of her pleading in front of the mirror seemed to have been successful on that front. 

Feeling Tony kick inside her had been cool and simultaneously really weird. The whole situation was weird. She legit could not seem to connect her pregnancy and unborn child to what she remembered of Tony Stark back in her time. It just defied what was left of her sanity and gave her some really strange mental images. Howard had looked ridiculously pleased feeling his son kick though, so she kept her thoughts to herself. 

But overall pregnancy didn’t appeal to either her or Howard and she was very relieved when Howard brought up the idea of getting a vasectomy while she was still pregnant. She might have been a little over eager in her affirmative response based off Howard’s laughter. Also she had a feeling she’d feel better off the pill and it hadn’t really helped since she was pregnant anyway…

Peggy, Angie, and Anna had asked her if she wanted a baby shower, but since baby showers never appealed to her, Tony already had like five cribs and a gazillion other things, and the three women were literally her only female friends the idea had been nixed rather quickly. 

But now just shy of being a week or so away from giving birth she was more than ready for it all to be over. Howard had secured a private suite at the hospital (or had one built just for her (she was a little hazy on the details)) for her delivery. Along with finding a doctor Darcy was comfortable with (she had had screaming matches with two previous doctors that had refused to listen to her concerns after telling her about things like twilight sleep and forceps and ignoring her mentions of breastfeeding and other obvious statements like ‘childbirth is painful’. After seeing how distressed Darcy was after each doctor’s appointment Howard had made it clear to any doctor they went to that they better listen to his wife’s concerns. In a desire mostly born out of keeping their jobs they shut up and thankfully disappeared out of Darcy’s life. 

They finally found a doctor willing to listen to her (or at the very least willing to fake it for Howard’s money) and a midwife that came as a welcomed second opinion (for Darcy, at this point she didn’t give a damn what the doctor thought). 

In the end a little terrified of all the ways things could go wrong and honestly she was in this deep she may as well see it completely through, Darcy opted for natural childbirth as her first option. 

.  
.  
.

Anna was carefully packing enough clothes for Darcy to live comfortably in for about a year in her hospital bound suitcase. Make that suitcases. Darcy was propped up by enough pillows to support a small army in her bed as she watched Anna get everything ready for her. Howard was lounging lazily beside her on the bed a stack of papers from work in his hand. 

“So I’ve made a decision.” Darcy announced to the silent room. Anna glanced over at her to see if this decision was something she needed to stop packing for. 

It wasn’t.

Howard put his papers down and gave his wife his full attention. 

“Howie, I’m kicking you out of the delivery room. I know I know, one of the perks to you basically buying a wing of the hospital for me was that we could do whatever we wanted…but I find you stressful and don’t think I want you in there.” 

“Thanks, darling.” He drawled. He also looked really really relived based on the way his shoulders relaxed slightly and the small grin on his face.

“You jerk.” 

“Sounds about right.”

“Urgh.” She rolled her eyes and reached over to punch Howard in the arm. Before tugging him closer so she could cuddle up to his chest. 

“You still have to wait like right outside the door and be at my beck and call.”

“Deal.” 

“Or Peggy will shoot you because I’ll be in too much pain to do it myself.” Darcy replied with a smile. “Plus, you know, I’ll be a little busy.” 

“You’re letting Peggy bring a gun into the delivery room?” Howard asked incredulously. 

“And you are going to lay here and tell be you won’t be carrying also?” 

“Fair point.” 

Darcy glared at him and Howard shrugged his shoulders defensively. 

“What!? We could be attacked by any number of enemies. Peggy will have a gun, you just said so.” 

“Yeah to shoot you when I literally can deal anymore. That’s the only reason.” 

“Please don’t be giving her any ideas.”

“You’re really happy about not having to be in there aren’t you?” Darcy asked once Anna had slipped out of the room to give them some privacy.

“Please don’t change your mind.” He begged looking somewhat terrified at the idea of being in the same room as his wife while she was in labor. 

The man could fly planes into the thick of German territory during WWII cracking jokes but god forbid the idea of spending hours in a delivery room. 

Honestly, Darcy couldn’t blame him. She’d prefer to face another alien invasion than her rapidly approaching due date. Aliens and death were a lot less scary.   
.  
.  
.

Maria Stark was admitted to the hospital on May 27, far earlier than most women were allowed to be admitted but she wanted to be as comfortable there as she could be, and the hospital certainly wasn’t willing to refuse the rather large check Howard wrote out to them as Maria was being settled in her room.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my knowledge of babies is sketchy at best. If I mess something obvious up, yell at me. Also typed my phone so it might be a little rough.

True to her word and to Howard's everlasting relief, Darcy kicked him out of her pimped out (her nonsensical description, not his) delivery room as soon as she went into labor. As awkward as it was to pace around the waiting room (which in hindsight he probably should of had a mini bar or something built in it) with Jarvis looking amusedly on, it was much preferred over being in the delivery room. He at least was allowed to smoke out here even if he'd prefer a stiff drink.

Normally that small strain of cowardness would invoke nonstop teasing or worse from Peggy. But since it was actually his wife's brilliant idea, it looked like he had dodged Peggy's wrath for the time being. Even Peggy knew better than to cross Darcy right now. But he was sure he'd be back on her bad side soon enough. Especially once his son was born.

.  
.  
.  
After what felt like years to him, what must have been eons for his wife, and in reality hours for all of them, Anthony Edward Stark was born so late in the evening that it was almost morning of the next day.

A soft spoken and smiling Peggy Carter came to fetch him from where he was pacing a path into the carpet in the waiting room, she lead him to the door of the delivery room but then turned around to join the Jarvis’s back in the waiting room. Howard paused at the door and pushed the door open just a crack to peer into his wife's hospital room. 

The room was empty of hospital personnel, much to Howard's extreme relief. All the blood and pain and screaming seemed to be well over. He had no idea what sort of mood Darcy was in and he was about to meet his son for the first time. He'd been a civilian pilot in World War Two, been on the run from his own government, and grown up dirt poor the son of immigrants in New York City and he had never faced anything as terrifying as the small baby his wife had bundled in her arms. 

Howard had the sudden and overwhelming desire to close the door quietly and run far, far away from the two people he was responsible for above all other things in the universe. But he squashed that impusle down along with many of his other deep dark thoughts that often haunted his mind. As a brave young man from Brooklyn once said, he was with them till the end of the line.   
So after leaning against the door and just staring into the room with his hands stuck in his pockets. Howard finally managed to summon what was left of his battered reserves of courage and took his hands out of his pockets and rapped his knuckles lightly against the door frame. It was noisy enough to gain Darcy’s attention.

His wife turned wearily towards the door and gave a small smile when she saw him standing there.

“Hey.” she whispered, exhaustion clear in her voice. “Come meet Anthony, Howie. Come meet your son.”

He crossed the room and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. He did his best to not jostle or upset Darcy from her cocoon of pillows. Up close he could see the pale blue blankets in her arms moving ever so slightly. 

He swallowed tightly and stared as Darcy moved the blankets away from their son's face. 

Anthony Edward Stark, the only son of Howard and Maria Stark, the Futurist, Iron Man, the Merchant of Death and the list of names and titles good and bad could go on and on, was really...small. Tiny. Howard wasn't sure what he had been imagining for a newborn baby but he wasn't prepared for something so small and helpless staring up at him.

Darcy huffed a small laugh next to him. He tore his gaze away his son and looked over at her.

“You look terrified Howie. It's ok. I am terrified. He's cuter than I'd thought he'd be.” she finished smililing down at Tony and cooing softly as she shifted him in her arms. “Do you want to hold him?” she asked smililg just as softly at her husband. 

He didn't reach out to take his son but he did cup his hand around his wife's cheek and leaned in to kiss her brow before resting his forehead against hers. He still couldn't bring himself to say anything. Or perhaps he didn't trust himself to say the right thing.

Howard finally forced himself to ease back and reach for his son. Darcy helped him arrange Tony in his arms the right way, if not a little stiffly.

“You ok there?” asked Darcy, no longer whispering as Tony squirmed a bit in his father's arms. 

“I think I should be asking you that, darling. You're the one that just delivered my son.”  
Howard paused, “are babies always this small?”

“Apparently.” she shrugged a little. “Your guess is as good as mine.” she yawned into her hand.

“When can you come home?” he asked as he reached out to run a finger over one of Anthony’s little fists. 

“There weren't any complications during the delivery so I don't think I'll have to be for very long. If you want you can sort that out with the doctor however and whenever you wish.”

Howard nodded. He was more than ready to get back home and he wanted Darcy back there too.

“I'm sure there's other questions you're going to want to have the doctor answer.”

“Like how soon you can be sexually active again?” as soon as that question left his mouth he cringed. Darcy probably wasn't gping to appreciate that question at this point in time.

But luckily she breathed out another small laugh. “Yeah, I figured you'd want to know that answer. About six weeks from now, give or take.”

“I wasn't trying…” 

“Oh relax Howard, I know how you are.Suddenly having a baby wasn't going to change you that much. But right now I desperately need sleep. And I'm sure Jarvis amd Anna would really like to see Tony. But bring him back right after, I'm not sure if I'll be able to fall asleep with him out of the room.”

“We'll be right back.”


	32. Chapter 32

Babies cried a lot. 

That was the only thought at 4:30 in the morning going through Howard's pounding head. Tony seemed to be doing his best to shatter his parents eardrums with his unhappy cries. It didn't help that Howard was thoroughly hung over and running very low on sleep. 

Darcy rolled out of bed after less than a minute of hearing her son start to cry. Howard took that opportunity to grab one of her many pillows so he could burrow into them away from the noise. So naturally he failed to see the glare she turned on him as she left his side.

“Easy there.” she cooed softly as she leaned over the crib to pick Tony up. Tony didn't seem to be listening to that suggestion as his cries only seemed to get louder. “It's ok, shhh Tony...shhhh….please…”

After checking to make sure he didn't need his diaper changed she sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled down one side of her night shirt to see if he was hungry. When that failed to quiet Tony she sighed wearily and got back up on her feet to pace the room and bounce Tony lightly in an attempt to soothe him.

Within five minutes Howard had had enough.

“Damnit Maria,” he swore, lifting his head from the pile of pillows “Can't you get him to shut up?”

“ I'm trying, Howard.” she snapped as loud as she could while trying to not bother Tony further.

“Well, go try in a different room, I've got a fucking board meeting in like three hours. I don't need to listen to this.” He snapped before shoving his head back deep in the pillows.

She was out of the bedroom so quick with Tony still in her arms there was no chance Howard would notice the tears that started pouring down her cheeks.

She'd only been out of the hospital for about a week and a half. During the day she had Jarvis and Ana helping her left and right. But at night she had put her foot down, the Jarvis’s deserved time alone and she had zero desire to hire a nanny to watch Tony. 

But the disjointed sleep schedule was definitely fraying her nerves along with the drastic change in lifestyle. She hadn't had a drink or a cigarette since the day she had found out she was pregnant. It scared her a bit to look back and see just how many nights had ended with her getting smashed. 

If the lack of sleep and lifestyle change was fraying her nerves it was doing far worse to Howard's. Except he certainly wasn't cutting back on the drinking. And maybe he wasn't drinking heavier than he always had, as much as that tended to be (but she had a horrible feeling he had been drinking a bit more than what she was just seeing). He was moodier too, probably because it had been a few months since he got laid. 

He also clearly did not belong around babies that were incapable of using full sentences to express their needs and wants. Half the time he looked scared to death to hold Tony, the rest of the time he he was too busy diving back into S.H.I.E.L.D and Stark Industries. And Tony was a little young to be allowed down in Howard's lab, even if one day that would be his domain too.

So with Darcy’s time being monopolized by Tony and Howard being drunk and distant it has been a long long week and a half. 

And that's how she ended up here in the spare bedroom she used to crash in before she married Howard with her crying son. She carefully sat down in the middle of the bed and leaned against the pillows by the headboard. Tony seemed to be crying himself out and the loud cries had subsided enough that she could now hear her own sobs.

As lonely as she had been when she had been first flung into the past she had at least had work and Peggy and Howard in his more dashing international spy side. It was horrible right now.

But both of them had stopped crying now and Darcy carefully placed Tony down on the bed in front of her.

“So...heard any good bands lately? According to your Wikipedia page we have similar tastes in music.” she asked her son who was waving his little hands and feet a bit.

“How about this one?” she asked before starting to sing “And Now I'm in my second circle and I'm headin' for the top, I've learned a lot of things along the way.  
I'll be careful while I'm climbin' 'cause it hurts a lot to drop, When you're down nobody gives a damn anyway.I've traded love for pennies, sold my soul for less,  
Lost my ideals in that long tunnel of time.  
I've turned inside out and around about and back and then Found myself right back where I started again.” 

Tony stared up at her as she crooned Jim Croce slightly off tune to him.

“I'll buy you the album kiddo, he sounds so much better than me.” her voice broke as she continued. “My dad used to play Jim Croce on his guitar. And Jimmy Buffett...The Eagles...his voice sounds a lot better than mine too. I think that skill might skip over me and go to you instead.”

Tony blinked his eyes tiredly in response.

“You want another song kiddo? I can butcher some of my favorite The Lost Keys songs for you. How about Sinister Kid? Huh...devil won't let me be, the boy with a broken halo, that's me….um...something something it's been years since I heard them. I think they'll make it big in about 40ish years?” 

She leaned down to kiss Tony lightly on his soft dark hair. “I remember all the lyrics to ‘Oops I Did It Again’ but I refuse to sing that to you as a lullaby. Sorry.”


	33. Chapter 33

Howard sighed heavily into the mouthpiece of the phone. He resisted the urge to throw it on the ground and stomp on it, but only barely. 

“Darcy’s going to kill me for this, pal.” he said, as he slumped against the kitchen wall. “and she'll be down any second.”

“So bring her with you. You've seen all the research her boss did when your wife first joined us. She'd probably be useful.” Peggy snapped back in response. 

“Every time I try and broach this topic or my research with her she completely shuts me out Pegs, I'm not sure why you think this time will be any different.” he snapped back equally annoyed at his oldest friend. 

“Fine then. Do whatever you bloody want Howard.” she hung up on her end before he had a chance to respond. The situation must be fairly dire for her to loose her cool like that.

“Lovely talking to you too.” he said sarcastically to the empty beeping sound that signified the disconnect. 

He hung the phone back on the wall and turned to find Darcy standing behind him wearing a stately evening gown and a frown. The arms crossed tight against her chest didn't help much either.

“As much as I despise these sort of events,” she began, cocking an eyebrow to indicate her dress and his tux “I'm really curious what Peggy wants you to do on the single free ish night we've had together since Tony was born. Admittedly that's only been like a month and a half, but still. We could use a little break.”

Howard sighed again and resigned himself to having both the women in his life pissed off at him. 

“We’re getting strange readings down at one of S.H.I.E.L.D’s labs. I need to go and check on it.” He stepped toward her carefully as if he expected her to back away from him. Not that she had ever really backed down from a fight before. But they also hadn't ever been at odds with each other as much as they had been lately. Howard didn't like it but unlike with science and engineering he didn't even know where to begin with when trying to talk to his wife.

Darcy’s glare eased up ever so slightly as she listened to him. “Which lab are we talking about here?”

“The one you refuse to have anything to do with. The one I designed solely for the purpose of getting you back to your proper time.” 

The look on Darcy’s face was so furious he half expected her to slap him. Instead he could see tears welling up in her eyes, and that was way worse to see in all honesty. 

“However the research is beneficial to this country, S.H.I.E.L.D, and Stark Industries...it will help a lot of people in the end. Not just us.”

“Why are you trying so hard to get me back to my original time Howard? You want to get rid of me that badly?”

While she probably meant it as sarcasm it still made Howard stop and gape at her incredulously. Get rid of her? They fought of course, and the last few months had been extremely trying, since he realized he was rather unsuited for fatherhood and the patience and emotions it often required. Two things he had in short supply for the small wiggly and breakable bundle of joy that was his newborn son. He loved the kid more than he ever imagined he would and Darcy was hands down the best thing that had ever happened to him, but he was exhausted and couldn't remember the last time his brain had let him stop thinking long enough to get some rest.

“Darcy the last thing I want to do is ‘get rid of you’ what I damn well do want is to see you fucking happy.” before he could move forward towards her, his wife had already breached the distance and burrowed her face into his shoulder holding on tight to him. “I've fucked up a lot of things during my life, I'm just trying to set a few things right the only way I know how.” 

.  
.  
.

The high end clothing had been ditched for slacks and a button up for Howard and for Darcy a set of slacks and a nice blouse. A few more off key lullabies had been sung to Tony by his mom featuring songs that probably didn't exist yet, before Howard could convince his wife to once again hand Tony safely over to the Jarvis’s for the night. But in the end Darcy wasn't looking as heartbroken as she had when he had been on the phone and she had followed him out to the car.

Howard couldn't quite believe that Darcy had agreed to come with him but wasn't going to argue against his good luck. He knew the basics of what her boss Dr. Foster had been working on, he could only hope that Darcy might have some insight on how they could at least contact the future if not actually travel there. But for all he knew (and he knew a lot) it only worked one way and they wouldn't be able to reverse it.

Darcy reached over turned on the radio as he pulled out of their driveway and then turned to stare out of the passenger window.

“If you are mad at me I'd prefer if you just told me.” he began after a few minutes of nothing but the radio and the beeping of New York City traffic around them.

“I'm just exhausted Howie...and I know you are too. I just…” she sighed but turned to look at him. “I want you to know that if I had a choice to go back to my life exactly how it was before I ended up here...I'd pick you and Tony over that. Despite everything.” 

Howard laughed, but it was a dark humorless sound. 

“You'd pick an aging alcoholic, way to old for you, that should never have become a parent, that's lied about so many things to make it in this damn country that his own parents would never recognize me as being the child they raised, that is never home…” he trailed off, as he pulled into a random parking spot so he could talk without needing to watch the road. “Who can't get a fucking night of rest from his own brain without a bottle of scotch to help.”

“Howie. Howard. Hey.” she reached out and grabbed his arm where it was pressed against the steering wheel. “Hey, c’mere…” she said as she felt her husband actually shaking under her hand. 

.  
.  
.

Howard could honestly say that the last time he cried was at the news of his father's death when he had been fourteen years old, and here he was sobbing into his wife's shoulder for what seemed like hours. Darcy had been crooning soothing nonsense into his hair for at least five minutes now. 

He had really no desire to move despite his distaste for losing control like this and the somewhat painful position he was sitting in, Darcy still had her arms tight about him and was clearly waiting for him to pull away first.

He figure it wouldn't kill either one of them to stay there just a few minutes longer.


	34. Chapter 34

“Friendship is something that gets harder to understand, every damn year of my life.Friendship is like a kind of algebra test that nobody passes. In my worst moods, I think the best you can say is that a friend is anyone you don't despise.”   
― Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram

"In real life happy endings are a rarity. For the most part, endings are  
ordinary, and other times they are so sudden and unexpected they can  
hardly be considered endings at all. Some of the things you love the  
most will disappear without a trace and you’ll never really know where  
they went off to. You won’t always have the answers, kid. You won’t  
always find closure or receive compensation for the hurt. Sometimes,  
you’ve just got to take a breath, make peace with yourself, and do your  
best to move forward."  
▼  
Beau Taplin || H a p p y E n d i n g s

 

 

It took Howard a moment when he woke up to remember where he was. The complete and utter lack of a crying baby definitely threw him for a loop at first. He was sure that was how his mornings usually started. That and a splitting headache. Having Darcy sans clothing half wrapped around him and deep asleep was also a very nice change. Normally she'd already be up with Tony, before he'd ever even start getting ready for work never mind have any time to spend with her. He was suddenly feeling very very old. 

Their clothes were somewhere in his workshop he assumed. Probably tossed haphazardly on some greasy engine that was only half complete. They had both been a little preoccupied with getting the layers off to give a damn where they landed. It was a price he was more than willing to pay.

It was also the first time in a long time he could remember waking up without a massive hangover. Though he did have that lethargic and bone weary feel that one got after breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably. Or at least that was how Darcy had described it in the past, his personal knowledge on the subject was sketchy at best. Overall the hangover would have been a preferable choice but probably would have left Darcy in a pissy mood. 

The workshop telephone was ringing off the hook though and that's what had startled him out of the small bed he kept in his lab for long nights where he couldn't stop working and fiddling with things. 

It grew silent by the time he hauled his ass out of bed to get to it.

But within seconds of going silent it started ringing again. 

“What?” he practically growled into the phone. Not bothering to find out who the hell was on the line before snapping at them. If they had this line then they could deal with his temper he figured. 

“I could say the same bloody thing to you Howard. Why the hell did you not come in last night?” snapped Peggy.

Howard sighed and glanced back at the bed where his wife was starting to stir from all the noise.

“I had something more important to attend to.” He stated not looking forward to a long drawn out conversation at this time.

“What Howard? Crawling inside a bloody bottle of scotch once again? That's never stopped you from making it into the office in the past.” Between his exhaustion, guilt, and over all feeling of needing a damn break from life, he snapped at her tone. 

“Maybe I just wanted a fucking uninterrupted night alone with my wife. Just because you weren't able to make your marriage work because it meant time away from being Agent Carter, doesn't mean I'm going to fucking screw mine over.”

There was dead silence on the other end of the line and Howard could only think of one maybe two other times he fucked up as royally as he had just did. He hadn't been a religious man since before his parents died but he silently begged a higher power for Peggy to call him out on this in her typical fashion. Even if everything he said was true, he knew that some things should just not be spoken out loud. Peggy’s marriage, kids, and old discussions on Steve Rogers were often extremely taboo subjects. But, all he got was the sound of the line going dead. Well, fuck. He didn’t know if he was going to be able to talk his way out of this one. 

“Howie?” asked a sleepy sounding Darcy from the bed minutes later. “What are you doing?” 

Howard was still standing, more slumped to be honest, next to the telephone, his head pressed against the wall. 

“I think I just made a really fucking big mistake Darlin’.” 

She pulled the sheet around her and padded across the cold workshop floor to his side.

“I know the feeling, Howie.”

He leaned into her and sighed against her hair. 

“I’m exhausted. Let’s get the fuck out of New York for a few weeks.” He just wanted to get into one of his planes and fly and fly and fly like he did when he had gotten his first plane years ago. Back when he had no one to miss him and no one to miss if he didn't come back. 

Darcy leaned back to look up at him.

“Are you sure you aren’t just trying to run away from all our problems?”

“I’d be off searching for Captain America if it was just that.” 

“hhmm, go fix things with Peggy first.” She ordered. 

“How’d you know it was Peggy?”

Darcy laughed at that and leaned up to kiss him soundly for a minute or two. When she finally broke away but still had all of Howard’s attention focused on her she started talking again.

“Name one other person in this world that can get under your skin as much as she can.” She patted him lightly on the chest, “Go fix it and find out what’s going on at the lab. Then if you still want to we can get out of town for as long as you like. I’ll start packing Tony’s stuff just in case. I don’t think we have any baby supplies out in California and I hate shopping. ”


	35. Chapter 35

Any plans or dreams of getting the fuck out of dodge were squashed completely as Howard pulled into the parking lot outside of one of S.H.I.E.L.D’s more secure research labs. The parking lot was crawling with military grade vehicles sporting S.H.I.E.L.D’s sleek black and gray paint jobs instead of one of the other branches of the US Military. Fully uniformed agents were stationed around the perimeter of the building and as soon as Howard put his car in park, he could see one of the agents run off to alert people inside the building that he had finally showed up. 

Damn, maybe skipping coming in the night before wasn’t his smartest move. What the fuck was going on here?

After making it past the heightened security measures at the door and a full search just inside the building (despite being the goddamn director of the place) Howard was approached by one of the agents. 

“Mr. Stark, sir.” 

“Yes?” Howard snapped as he fixed his tie and smoothed out his suit jacket. He vaguely recognized the agent’s face but had no idea what his name was.   
“If you will follow me, we can get Agent Carter and one of the scientists assigned to the project to get you up to speed on the events of the last few hours.” If Howard’s bad mood or tone had set the agent on edge it certainly didn’t show on his expressionless face. 

“Right. Fine. Let’s go.” Despite years of learning to hide his thick New York accent Howard could hear tinges of it creeping into his words. All he wanted was damn break and now he clearly was going to be tied up at work for a long damn time. 

Howard followed the agent through one nondescript hall way after another until they finally arrived at a nondescript door that Howard remembered installing the security on personally a few months ago. The agent rapped out a knock on the door and turned to leave before anyone had a chance to come and open it.   
Peggy was the one who wrenched the door open and gave him a tight smile as she ushered him into the room. A young black man they had recently stolen from the US Army named Nicholas Fury stood guard by the door. Fury had passed every sort of test he and Peggy had thrown at him and clearly had made it into Peggy’s good graces. Though currently Peggy ignored him and focused on dragging Howard past him to where two men in lab coats were gesturing wildly to each other. 

“I’m going to need a translation on what these two gentlemen are starting World War III over if you don’t mind, Stark.” She said as she closed the door firmly behind Howard’s back. Any lingering issues they might have had personally with each other were shelved for the time being. 

“Obviously, pal.” He muttered before walking past Peggy to interrupt the two men. 

“Wanna fill me in on what’s going on gents?” he said loudly once he was right next to them. 

That stopped the gestures and the raised voices as both scientists turned to face Howard with matching scowls at being interrupted yet probably imagining their funding going up in smoke if they ran their mouths off with complaints. 

“Dr. Johnson, you go first.” He said picking one of the two at random. 

“Mr. Stark, at about 18:30 hours yesterday we started receiving odd readings from lab 456. Considering what we house in lab 456 all personal with a security clearance for that lab were called in. “

Ah, fuck. Maybe he should have dragged Maria to the lab with him last night. He might have missed something really fucking important by blabbing on about his feelings instead. 

“Go on.”

“Right, well as I said all authorized personal were brought in to assess the situation.”

The other doctor had clearly grown tired of waiting and took it upon himself to interrupt at this point. “I’d like to point out that many of our protocols were ignored.”  
Howard frowned but raised a hand to silence his outburst. “Please let Dr. Johnson finish. I want to hear all sides of what events have happened.” 

“That cube of yours went haywire is what happened!?” Dr. Smith ignored Howard's request and snapped. 

“The cube? The Tesseract you mean?” Howard felt excitement bubbling under his skin that he hadn’t felt since working on Project Rebirth all those years ago. “What did it do?”

“It flickered.” 

“What? Like on and off?” he scoffed.

“No like, the image it projected flickered.”

“Image?” Howard demanded in a tone that clearly made both men nervous as they glanced at each other in sudden solidarity before attempting to answer his question. 

“Yes, on the wall…like a projector in a classroom except it wasn’t quite the same. For one thing, we certainly were not controlling it.

“How was it different?”

“Well the wall disappeared.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me?” Howard asked, actually hearing the shock in his own voice. 

Both men just shook their heads. 

Howard stared at them. 

“But it’s back now. As I said. It flickered in and out of existence before finally settling on existing.”

He was still staring at them and it might be the only time in his life he was feeling a little bit speechless. His attention was only focused on the two scientists. Peggy and Fury were standing by the door completely forgotten. 

“So while it was deciding if the wall should exist or not, what took the wall’s place?” asked Howard. 

The scientists glanced at each other and then focused back on Howard. 

“It looked like a lab similar to what we have here. Except newer? It’s hard to explain. There were people moving around that didn’t fit descriptions of any of our current staff. Secuirty double checked all the logs and have been questioning everyone in the building. Unfortunately the images didn’t last long enough for us to study it further.”   
Peggy moved away from the door to hand him a thick stack of papers. He flinched a little out of surprise, he had been so caught up in the conversation he hadn’t heard or seen his old friend move. 

“Here’s the written reports of everyone that was in the building at the time. Why don’t you read through them and then talk to the staff that were here yourself?” explained Peggy. 

“Wait, Peggy. The two of you saw this image yourself?”

“Yes.” 

Howard’s mind raced. The cube he had dredged up years ago was far more dangerous and important than any of these people would ever guess. His wife hadn’t seemed surprised the first time she found out S.H.E.I.L.D. had it in their custody. Despite her very limited knowledge on it, Darcy probably still knew more about it second hand than his whole staff did after studying it for years. After all she had lived through the fall out and subsequent alien invasion it had sparked. And had close ties to the people involved in research and protecting it in the future. 

“Are you sure it was just an image?” he tried to clarify without straight up asking if they had accidentally opened a portal to another plane of existence- or what he really hoped for, a viable option for time travel. 

But it looked like both scientists couldn’t provide him with more more than they already had. They seemed more shaken than coherent and it left Howard wondering if they were going to be able to cut it as a S.H.E.I.L.D. scientist despite their high levels of intelligence. 

“Right well, I’ll speak with both of you later. Agent Fury if you’d escort them out of here that would be appreciated.” Ordered Peggy clearing the room so she could talk in private with Howard. Once the three men existed the room Peggy turned to face Howard.

“What’s going on here Howard?”

Howard rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. 

“I’m not entirely sure right now, Pegs. But I do have some good theories. Just let me figure somethings out first before I try and explain.”  
Peggy frowned at his answer but didn’t press the issue for once. Instead she just clapped him on the shoulder and exited the room leaving him with a stack of papers, a massive headache, and the last desperate bit of hope that he could fix things. 

Darcy was going to have to come in whether she liked it or not.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took FOREVER. I've moved hundreds of miles, started a new stressful job, and have had agents asking me to query for my original work. All good things but very stressful and time consuming. So this is probably really rough.

“I do not think you can name many great inventions that have been made by married men.”   
― Nikola Tesla

It felt good to be back in a lab that was filled with stressed out government thugs. It reminded her of New Mexico, if only she had her iPod and some pop tarts and Jane obsessing over data in a corner it would almost feel like home. 

But this time she had better funding and no one talked down to her when Howard was in hearing range. Most of them even thought she spoke fluent science. She had gotten that good at mixing BS and the occasional real fact together. Though compared to the late sixties she did have a good working history of major scientific events. And alien technology. 

“Darling.” Howard’s voice was a little ragged and sharp. Most of his employees would only hear the sharp tones in his voice but Darcy had seen him at his worst. “I know you don’t want to be here-“

Darcy cut him off, “it’s fine, Howie.” 

It probably wasn’t. But, neither one of them were keen on airing all their deep dark secrets to a bunch of shady secret agent types.   
She glanced around the lab at the staff that was doing it’s best to not look like there were listening to the power couple’s every word. 

“But I think we should talk this over in private?”

Howard mimicked her glance around the room.

“Sound plan,” he grabbed her hand and led her away from the main area to a small very enclosed windowless room that had a stack of manila folders waiting for them. 

After shutting the door behind Darcy he pulled out a seat for her and then grabbed one for himself. 

He ran his hands over his face wearily before sighing. 

“Alright, here’s what we got in layman’s terms. We think the tesseract opened a link through space.”

“Right.” She nodded. She was pretty sure she had mentioned how fucking powerful this thing was. 

“And time. Mostly time. The future to be exact.” 

Darcy raised one eyebrow at her husband, crossed her arms and cocked her hip out as sassily as she could. Howard, reflexively held out his hands to appease her before she could break in and prevent him from getting a word in. 

Somehow her eyebrow managed to arch up even higher at that. 

“My theory is that your old ‘bff’ Dr. Jane Foster is doing her best to rip apart the fabric of the universe to get you back. I use those terms very unscientifically. I haven’t studied the universe in general enough to know how it works exactly.” He shrugged, finally dropping his hands back to his sides. God, he could really use a fucking drink. And that was a problem he’d address way later. 

“Putting your usually well deserved ego to the side,” she paused “on the subject of SCIENCE, not women, what makes you certain Jane’s behind this?”

“The lab was described as a cross between a doctor who episode and a star trek episode but with much much nicer sets and budget. Plus one of the scientists claimed someone was wearing a long red cloak in the glimpses they got. Naturally, this scientist is pretty close to panicking because he thinks we are going to lock him up in a psych ward or something.” 

Darcy snorted and smiled, but her eyes went dark. Howard knew he should probably tread carefully, but that wasn't something he was exactly good at doing. 

"Well if that was a snapshot of Janeykins lab, then the hot buff dude wearing a cape is a fairly normal fixture. Well as normal as Norse gods can be."

"So nothing to write home to my girl about then?" Howard asked as jokingly as he could. The light tone didn't quite work when he was gripping the folders with white knuckles. 

And his girl was the current reigning expert on the subject. But it was enough to get a small smile and an eye roll out of her. So he was counting that as a win. 

"I guess you definitely aren't going to give up on this research now."

Howard hated losing. He hadn't clawed his way up from extreme poverty and unpopular religious background to be one of America's wealthiest men to give up without a fight. But...

"I need better technology. Technology that I can only dream of because it simply does not exist yet. I mean, naturally I'll invent some of what I need but I can only do so much."

"So what do you have planned?"

"You've said that Anthony is going to the best and brightest when he grows up."

Darcy didn't like talking about Tony from the future. She was still trying to reconcile the tabloid figure she knew second hand to the baby she sang Mötley Crue songs to at night. 

"Between him and Jane, they should be able to work something out."

"And what Howard? Think this through...somehow we are 'rescued' by our son who is going to be in his mid forties, in a world inhabited by superheroes and villains. And we are what, just going to pop in like nothing happened, like we weren't dead for all that time? Like I hadn't gone missing? It's fucking insane on every conceivable level. That's assuming they are even successful...and Jane finds a way to bring Tony on board."

"Oh, I'm sure we can at least manage to get them a message. As you said, Tony’s smart." He said it so caviler that Darcy wanted to scream. 

Darcy literally had to bite her tongue when she thought back to the crazy stunts her adult son had pulled off. And just how this probably wasn't going to help his already stressed mental state after being kidnapped and blown up by aliens and that was just the stuff she could watch on CNN and was allowed public. Who the fuck knew what else was going on? Like she had signed so many privacy forms when she stayed on with Jane, Stark and his mess had to be equally if not way more top secret.


	37. Chapter 37

Howard had more confidence than ability to send a message to Tony in the future. And that was really saying something, seeing as he was really fucking brilliant. Darcy who was more used to being average and failing at life in general was stuck watching her husband grow more frustrated- and thus drunker- as the days turned to weeks and then into months. Nothing was working and whatever had worked on Jane’s end that triggered that break in time, didn’t seem to be doing it again anytime soon. 

 

The technology did not exist. The Tesseract was so beyond anything else on planet Earth, that the current computers and most advanced military inventions were a joke. Darcy had spent enough late nights, pissed off. Only to find her husband in his private lab just drinking and staring morosely at her StarkPhone willing the advancements into existence. 

Naturally, nothing was happening. 

And of course that didn’t deter him from trying. 

And drinking. 

“Howie.” She raised an eyebrow at the tumbler in his hand but was sidetracked by Tony kicking his little legs and grabbing at her lose bun. Darcy shifted her son her arms and leaned down to put him on the floor of the lab by Howard’s feet. She plopped down next to Tony to make sure Howard hadn’t left something small, sharp or chokeable on the floor that Tony could find. 

“Howie,” she said again and pushed him in the leg. She felt him shift and relax ever so slightly. 

“What?” he muttered before bringing the tumbler back up to his lips.

“This has got to stop.” She leaned her head against his leg. Tony babbled a bit and wobbled his way unsteadily over to her lap.   
Darcy poked Howard hard in the leg. Again. 

“Trade. I’ll take that glass of scotch and you take your son for a few hours.” The hand that wasn’t busy keeping Tony steady reached out expectantly for the glass. And kept reaching.

“It’s after midnight, Darcy.” He protested.

“So?” She pulled herself up to her feet using the seat of his armchair to help. “You’re awake, Tony’s awake. It’s all good. Show him your lab or something.”

She scooped Tony up and plopped him in Howard’s lap before prying the glass from her husband’s hand. She tossed the remains of the liquid down her throat and leaned in to kiss Howard. 

“And then if he hasn’t thoroughly exhausted you,” she kissed her way to the shell of his ear. “I’ll still be awake, Mr. Stark. And more than willing to do whatever you might want.”   
Howard’s eyes dipped to the low cut neckline of Darcy’s silky nightshirt. He opened his mouth, probably to try and convince her to have the Jarvis’s take Tony asap. But before he had a chance, Darcy pulled up with a small smirk and turned, leaving him alone, awkwardly holding his toddler son. 

Howard stared at the swing of his wife’s hips as she walked out of the lab. He was rudely awakened from whatever lust his wife had inspired, by Tony grabbing his nose with one   
small hand and smacking Howard’s cheek with the other. His kid let out a happy giggle, pleased with himself. 

Howard stared, slightly crossed eyed from the proximity to his nose, at his son. After a moment Howard pried Tony’s hand away from his nose but left Tony free to play with his cheek as the kid wished too.

“Guess your Mother thinks we need more quality time together kid.” He sighed and glanced around his lap searching for something safe to keep them both occupied. Tony was a little young to be building bombs or radios with his bare hands and Howard couldn’t think of anything else. “Should probably apologize to you in advance when I fuck this up somehow.” 

He shifted in his seat and wrapped one arm around Tony as he stood up, his body protesting after sitting down for so long. He propped Tony up against his side. 

“Want a tour of the lab, kid?” 

Another giggle and a sticky hand on his cheek counted as a yes.   
.  
.  
.  
“You survived.” Darcy drawled sleepily as Howard sank into the bed next to her. 

“Barely.” He countered, as he moved to find the edge of her shirt and pulling it up along her side, before she helped him get it over her arms and head.   
He didn’t give her much time to counter, before kissing her soundly and pushing her back into the piles of pillows she always insisted she needed. 

Darcy huffed a laugh into his mouth at his statement but didn’t protest as Howard started pulling at the string on her pants in an effort to get them off. 

“Something I can help you with there, Mr. Stark?” she murmured, voice going husky in a way it never did back years ago when she actually really addressed him so formally at work. She curled one hand around the nape of his neck and guided his mouth to the curve of her neck, to the spot that never failed to work for her. 

Thankfully her other hand went to help untie the string that Howard clearly had no more patience for dealing with this evening. 

“Bout fucking time,” Howard muttered into her neck with a grunt as he thrust into his wife. Darcy slid her free hand over his back and moaned as he started to move.   
.  
.  
.  
“Your accent gets thicker on nights like this…” Darcy said once they had both gotten their breath back. She propped herself up on Howard’s chest and glanced down at his hand that was idly cupping her breast. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked moving her hair away from where it was tumbling over her shoulders and blocking his view, his fingers lingered over the spot on her neck that had started to bruise, before moving down to rub over her other breast. 

“That you’re finally relaxing a bit.”

“Hhmmm.” He didn’t argue, just moved to kiss her. 

“You have to work in a few hours?”

“It’s a Saturday.”

“Never stopped you before…”

“Fair point.” He paused. “I can stay home. We can sleep in.” 

Darcy smiled down at him before leaning in and pressing her lips to his chest. 

"We could fly out to California. I think I want to host the next StarkExpo there." He continued, "I need a break from New York."


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and all that jazz. I'm actually going to one day finish this story. For real, I swear.

The first time Darcy kills a man is the day Tony gets kidnapped. 

The day starts normal enough. Their house in California is as lavish as their house in New York City except with a lot more space. Howard is out of town in New York for business, different state same grind. His desire to stay home a bit more lasted long enough to move the family out to California.

The change in scenery is enough to improve both their moods, and Darcy is enjoying the peace and quiet that only settles into the mansion when Howard is out of town. No late-night drinking, no fights over how to raise Tony, no stress of failed search attempts for Captain America, and no obsession over how to contact Jane Foster in the future. Just Darcy and Tony and the Jarvis’s enjoying life. 

That is certainly true this morning. Howard’s alarm rang loud and strong near Darcy’s ear and she slapped it off, she certainly wasn’t going to wake up early when that was Howard’s job. Instead she turns the knob on the radio to a top hits station and burrowed herself back down in the covers. Tony’s probably awake by now, but with how comfortable her bed is this morning, she’s more than happy to foster her responsibilities off on the Anna and Edwin Jarvis for the time being. Darcy’s sound asleep before the first song on the radio finishes. It’s her first big mistake of the day.

Darcy threw a solid punch at the person yelling and pulling at her covers off of her. She was still groggy with sleep so it took her a moment to focus on the image of Edwin Jarvis standing over her bed, rubbing his arm where she had nailed him with the punch. 

“Your glasses, Mrs. Stark,” he held the frames out to her, “get up, Master Anthony is missing.” 

“What the fuck, Jarvis?” she asked as she took the glasses and put them on, moving to detangle herself from the cocoon of sheets she was tangled in. He averted his eyes when one of her bare legs hit the floor. “What do you mean Tony’s missing?”

Jarvis handed her a pair of slacks and a shirt before her second foot hit the floor. The butler turned his back on Darcy to give her modicum of privacy for her to get fully dressed. But at least he continued talking as he did so. 

“He was out in the yard with Ana this morning while she did some gardening. One moment he’s there, the next he’s gone. Ana did see a car drive off. She got part of the license plate number down. Along with a make and model of the car.” His voice was tense but steady as he listed off the few facts he could give Darcy. He paused, “She’s working on relaying this information to Peggy as we speak.”

Darcy heard every word Jarvis spoke with crystal clear clarity, but she had to be hearing the man wrong. For some reason it sounded like Tony had just been kidnapped. Which was ridiculous. Jarvis was still talking as she got dressed. Once she tapped him on his shoulder he stopped his rather rambling monologue at this point to turn and face her. 

“We’ll find him Mrs. Stark.” He said as reassuringly as possible. Reaching out to awkwardly pat his employer’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

“Wait.” Darcy frowned, side eyeing Jarvis’s hand on her shoulder, before shrugging it off. “Tony’s really fucking missing?” 

Jarvis was halfway done nodding his head affirmative by the time Darcy took off running out the room and down the main staircase to the kitchen. Ana was still on the phone with SHIELD when Darcy came skidding into the room. She grabbed the phone from the older woman whose arm was shaking as she gripped the phone, “Maria Stark, get me Agent   
Peggy Carter on this phone or my husband Director Howard Stark if he’s in the building immediately.” 

What ever poor soul, secretary or grunt soldier, Darcy really didn’t care, squeaked on the other end before she heard orders being directed in the back ground. 

“Maria.” Peggy’s calm British accent floated out of the speaker. “What’s the matter?”

“Ana’s going to fill you in.” Darcy said, passing the phone back to the shaking woman. She slid down the side of the kitchen wall and stared blankly at the kitchen island for a moment before Edwin’s well-polished shoes appeared in her vision. 

She didn’t ever remember reading about Tony Stark getting kidnapped as a child. She also never like took the time to like, read about the man’s life. Prior to being flung out of time and space, he had just been a distant figure that might one-day fund Jane’s science for her. She had never thought paying attention to his freaking childhood might have been important. 

Jarvis was crouching down and holding out the phone for Darcy to take. 

“Yes?” she barked into the phone.

“Ana gave me a full report. I’ve already got men working on it. One of the local SHIELD offices is sending some agents over to the mansion. Howard should be calling you within five minutes, he’s already in route to take a plane back to California. Just stay by the phone until we have more intel to tell you.” Darcy nodded, but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

“Maria, bloody hell, Darcy. Collect yourself.” Peggy commanded.

“Peggy, I…”

“I do have to go and oversee everything.”

“Right.”

Darcy dropped the phone on the ground, and Jarvis reached down beside her to pick it up and hang it back up on the wall so as to not hold up the line if another call came through. 

“Mrs. Stark, Maria…I” Ana began, but trailed off when Darcy sharply waved her off with her hand. 

She’s saved from having to actually try and talk to the Jarvis’s by the phone ringing. She stood up, pushing Edwin out of the way as he went to answer it for her.

“Yes?” 

“We’re taking off in five, fastest prototype of the Lockheed SR-71 already prepped, Darlin.”

“We?” she muttered focusing in on the plural form. Howard wasn’t exactly known for playing nice with others. 

“Obadiah Stane, I’ve mentioned him before, not the best time for introductions. How are you doing?” 

“They fucking kidnapped our son, Howard. I’m going to kill them all with my bare hands once I know he’s safe.” 

“That seems entirely reasonable, I assume you know where all the firearms and basic supplies to build handheld bombs are kept around the house, though I would prefer for you to wait until we’ve got some solid intel coming in from our associates before you start blowing things up.”

Darcy laughed shakily into the phone, before chocking down a sob.

“We are going to find Tony and he is going to be safe and fine.”

“How the fuck do you know that Howard?”

“Because you know he outlives us and he’s alive in your time.” He sounded worried, but she knew what he sounded like when he was lying and this wasn’t it. 

“I think you have more faith in the future than I do.” 

“I need to hang up, I need to actually fly this plane for us to get there in a reasonable amount of time. Stay in contact with Pegs and make any appropriate decisions you need   
to. Our son is going to be fine, you are going to be fine. We will find these fuckers and bury them. I love you, Darlin.”

“Yeah, ok.” She heard the click of the phone, and then returned it to it’s base. 

Both Ana and Edwin stared at her wide eyed. 

“I need to get something from the lab, man this phone at all times.”

The simple order sounded very much like a threat but Darcy was already walking away before either of them could respond.

**Author's Note:**

> Title of the story comes from the Jim Croce song "Age".


End file.
